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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: spell · leaves · lean · club · shower · game · straw · bass

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. club — for golf
  3. spell — a short time
  4. shower — rain
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. spell — magic
  14. club — for dancing
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. club — a group
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. shower — to wash
  20. game — a match
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. game — wild animals
  23. spell — letters
  24. leaves — of a tree

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