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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. suit — in cards
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. mug — to rob
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. mug — a cup
  12. suit — clothes
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bat — the animal
  17. suit — to fit
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. mug — a face
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. straw — a straw man

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