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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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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: key · bear · pitch · bay · straw · file · tear · shower

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. key — for a lock
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitch — completely
  9. shower — to wash
  10. file — a tool
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. tear — to rip
  16. key — in music
  17. bear — the animal
  18. file — a line of people
  19. key — the most important part
  20. shower — rain
  21. bear — the animal
  22. file — a document
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitch — a sports field

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