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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: arm · bear · straw · chair · shower · land · season · object

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. object — an aim
  4. object — a thing
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. shower — to wash
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bear — the animal
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. season — in sport
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. shower — rain
  18. object — to protest
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. land — ground
  21. season — of the year
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. bear — the animal

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