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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. march — the month
  3. land — to come down
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rash — a series
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. march — music
  15. land — ground
  16. land — a country
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. march — the month
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cell — a phone

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