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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. lean — to bend
  5. march — music
  6. lean — thin
  7. vault — a safe
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. march — the month
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. scale — in music
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. march — the month
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. chair — a leader
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. game — a match
  24. game — wild animals

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