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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · bound · field · lean · club · wave · straw · mouse

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. lean — thin
  4. shower — rain
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bound — obliged
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. club — a group
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bound — certain
  15. field — a subject
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. shower — to wash
  18. lean — to bend
  19. bound — tied together
  20. field — farmland
  21. club — for golf
  22. field — for sport
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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