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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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 — a straw man
  3. staff — employees
  4. saw — the tool
  5. drill — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. vault — a safe
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. drill — army training
  11. content — the amount
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. staff — a stick
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bat — the animal
  21. content — happy
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. staff — employees

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