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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. court — of law
  4. land — to come down
  5. mark — a grade
  6. fall — the season
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. land — a country
  10. mine — for digging
  11. craft — boats
  12. court — of a king
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. craft — a skill
  16. land — ground
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. saw — the tool
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mark — a trace
  24. court — for sport

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