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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 don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. court — for sport
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — of a king
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wind — moving air
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. court — of law

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