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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — in a race
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. stock — shares
  6. cell — in biology
  7. kid — to tease
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stock — goods
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. cell — a phone
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — child
  21. race — humankind
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bear — to put up with

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