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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. squash — the sport
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. rash — a series
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cell — a phone
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. vault — a safe
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. spring — of water
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. spring — the season
  16. cell — in biology
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. squash — to crush
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. spring — a coil
  24. rash — on the skin

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