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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. season — of the year
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. season — in sport
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. dip — to sink
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. scale — in music
  18. date — the fruit
  19. perch — the fish
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mine — for digging
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. leaves — lets stay

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