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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 116 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. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mark — a trace
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. spring — of water
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spring — a coil
  9. saw — the tool
  10. ground — crushed
  11. hand — help
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. deal — to handle
  15. mark — a grade
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. ground — the earth
  20. saw — the tool
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. ground — a position
  23. spring — the season
  24. straw — dry grass

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