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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. date — the fruit
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. club — for golf
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. club — a group
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. face — part of the head
  15. face — to point toward
  16. face — to confront
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. perch — the fish
  22. wind — moving air
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wake — a trail

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