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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: last · shower · bat · key · straw · wave · sharp · rock

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. last — finally
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rock — music
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. key — the most important part
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. last — final
  12. rock — a stone
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. key — for a lock
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. sharp — clever
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. key — in music
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. last — to go on
  24. shower — to wash

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