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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pit — in a race
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — in control
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. content — the amount
  9. charge — a price
  10. game — a match
  11. charge — electricity
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cold — an illness
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy

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