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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. drill — a practice
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. drill — the tool
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wake — a trail
  9. content — happy
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. content — the amount
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. drill — army training
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'

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