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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 120 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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. file — a tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. fall — the season
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. ground — a position
  10. chip — for betting
  11. ground — crushed
  12. file — a line of people
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. capital — money
  15. firm — a company
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. file — a document
  19. ground — the earth
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. capital — a city
  22. chip — to eat
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — decided

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