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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. net — after costs
  3. last — finally
  4. rule — a law
  5. last — to go on
  6. spring — the season
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. spring — of water
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — final
  12. staff — a stick
  13. net — in sport
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rock — music
  19. net — for catching
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rule — government
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. rock — a stone

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