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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bulb — for light
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bulb — for light
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. wake — a trail
  12. march — the month
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. file — a tool
  16. mine — for digging
  17. file — a line of people
  18. march — music
  19. game — a match
  20. file — a document
  21. lean — thin
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. march — the month

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