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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 ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. squash — the sport
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. toast — bread
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. prune — to trim
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. spring — a coil
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bat — the animal
  22. squash — to crush
  23. spring — of water
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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