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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. court — of a king
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. mate — a friend
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. chip — to eat
  11. mate — to breed
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. stem — to come from
  14. foot — a measure
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chip — for betting
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. court — of law
  20. tube — a container
  21. mate — a partner
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. tube — the underground
  24. court — for sport

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