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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. game — a match
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. mine — for digging
  8. band — a music group
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. band — a ring
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — wild animals
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. straw — dry grass

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