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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 · pitcher · season · kid · rash · roll · shower · pop

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. kid — child
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pop — music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pop — to visit
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. roll — a cake
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pop — soda
  14. season — in sport
  15. kid — to tease
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. shower — to wash
  19. roll — a list
  20. shower — rain
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rash — hasty
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. season — of the year

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