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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. mate — to breed
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ball — a great time
  9. bear — the animal
  10. ball — a dance
  11. chest — a box
  12. wake — a trail
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — a thing
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mate — a friend
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bear — the animal
  21. object — an aim
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. straw — dry grass

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