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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — letters
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tube — a container
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mate — to breed
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. chair — a leader
  13. kid — to tease
  14. spell — a short time
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. march — music
  17. spell — magic
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — a partner
  21. march — the month
  22. foot — a measure
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. kid — child

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