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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. scale — size or range
  5. race — a contest
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. scale — in music
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. chip — to eat
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — for betting
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wound — an injury
  23. race — humankind
  24. cold — an illness

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