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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rock — a stone
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. pop — music
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cell — a phone
  9. capital — money
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. pop — to visit
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pop — soda
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. capital — a city
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rock — music
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. cell — in biology
  24. pitcher — a jug

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