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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. staff — a stick
  5. clip — a video
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. content — happy
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. staff — employees
  12. content — the amount
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chair — a leader
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. scale — size or range
  20. staff — employees
  21. clip — to cut
  22. pit — in a race
  23. clip — for paper
  24. straw — dry grass

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