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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. present — a gift
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. scale — size or range
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. wake — a trail
  11. scale — in music
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. foot — a measure
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now

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