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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: straw · shower · date · pop · wake · chest · row · fine

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. shower — to wash
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — a box
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fine — all right
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. row — a line
  13. date — the fruit
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. fine — high quality
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wake — a trail
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fine — a penalty

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