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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. present — a gift
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — there
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. rock — a stone
  12. squash — the sport
  13. game — a match
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pitch — completely
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. chest — a box
  19. fork — in a road
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. rock — music
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — wild animals

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