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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lean — to bend
  4. file — a tool
  5. ground — a position
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lean — thin
  12. chair — a leader
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — crushed
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. pit — in a race
  17. row — to paddle
  18. file — a line of people
  19. can — a tin
  20. can — a tin
  21. pit — a hole
  22. file — a document
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. row — a line

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