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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 120 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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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: cell · snap · game · stick · shower · board · straw · ground

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. snap — to click
  4. shower — rain
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. ground — a position
  8. board — to get on
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cell — a phone
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. game — a match
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. board — a committee
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. game — wild animals
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. board — a flat piece

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