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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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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 · straw · bore · shower · pitcher · racket · kick · stock

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bore — to drill
  6. shower — to wash
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bore — to tire
  9. spell — a short time
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. shower — rain
  13. spell — magic
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stock — goods
  16. kick — in football
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. spell — letters
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — shares
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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