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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 116 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. spell — a short time
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. land — a country
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. rush — hurry
  10. ball — a dance
  11. chip — to eat
  12. spell — magic
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cell — in biology
  15. spell — letters
  16. land — to come down
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. land — ground
  19. cell — a phone
  20. lean — thin
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. chip — for betting
  24. rush — a thrill

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