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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 124 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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. court — of a king
  11. bat — the animal
  12. pitch — completely
  13. fall — the season
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. mate — a partner
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. mate — to breed
  22. fall — to drop
  23. band — a ring
  24. court — for sport

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