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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · field · straw · fall · kid · charge · shower · pass

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. kid — child
  3. fine — all right
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. shower — to wash
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. pass — a permit
  8. kid — to tease
  9. field — for sport
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. charge — a price
  14. fall — to drop
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. charge — in control
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. charge — electricity
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com