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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. present — a gift
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. squash — to crush
  5. present — there
  6. craft — boats
  7. present — the time now
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. wake — a trail
  12. cell — in biology
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. cell — a phone
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. craft — a skill
  18. wake — before a funeral

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