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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — happy
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. staff — employees
  7. land — a country
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. content — the amount
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. staff — employees
  13. pop — to visit
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. pop — music
  16. land — to come down
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. hand — in cards
  20. land — ground
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. pop — soda
  24. hand — help

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