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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chip — for betting
  3. drill — the tool
  4. stock — shares
  5. drill — army training
  6. court — of a king
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. court — of law
  15. saw — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fine — high quality
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fine — all right
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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