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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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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: game · shower · perch · club · straw · bay · bat · drill

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. shower — rain
  3. drill — the tool
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. club — a group
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. drill — army training
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bat — the animal
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. drill — a practice
  24. perch — for a bird

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