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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.

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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 · straw · content · bowl · hand · net · ball · rash

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. net — for catching
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. content — happy
  5. shower — to wash
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. net — after costs
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. shower — rain
  14. net — in sport
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ball — a great time
  17. rash — a series
  18. content — the amount
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. ball — a dance
  22. hand — help
  23. rash — hasty
  24. rash — on the skin

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