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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 ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. saw — the tool
  8. suit — clothes
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. kick — in football
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. suit — to fit
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. suit — in cards
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — help

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