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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 ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. track — a path
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rule — a law
  9. season — of the year
  10. shower — rain
  11. rule — government
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. season — in sport
  14. track — a song
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. track — to keep track
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. bat — the animal
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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