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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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. foot — a measure
  7. ground — the earth
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bat — the animal
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. ground — a position
  13. race — a contest
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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