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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 116 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. track — a song
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bound — obliged
  9. wind — moving air
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bound — tied together
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. rest — what's left
  15. track — a path
  16. stock — shares
  17. track — to keep track
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. stock — goods
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. bound — certain
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wind — moving air

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