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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: bat · key · shower · straw · arm · rule · mouse · fall

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. shower — to wash
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. key — the most important part
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. fall — the season
  12. key — in music
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. key — for a lock
  15. fall — to drop
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. rule — a law
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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