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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 120 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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. tube — a container
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. spring — of water
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tube — the underground
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — a coil
  10. foot — a measure
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. shower — to wash
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chip — for betting
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. shower — rain
  20. spring — the season
  21. chip — to eat
  22. stem — to come from
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. foot — part of the body

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