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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 116 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: cold · straw · face · prune · dip · ruler · pitch · shower

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. shower — rain
  5. prune — to trim
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. face — to point toward
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitch — completely
  14. shower — to wash
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. prune — to trim
  18. dip — to sink
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. face — to confront
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cold — an illness
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. straw — dry grass

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