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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. cell — a phone
  5. present — a gift
  6. tube — a container
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. deal — to handle
  9. rock — a stone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. tube — the underground
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. present — there
  17. present — the time now
  18. deal — an agreement

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