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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wake — a trail
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spring — the season
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. spring — of water
  17. stand — to bear
  18. rest — a break
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. rest — what's left
  23. ground — a position
  24. stand — for spectators

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