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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. straw — dry grass
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. content — the amount
  4. content — happy
  5. club — for golf
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. clip — a video
  15. snap — to click
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chair — a leader
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. club — a group
  21. clip — to cut
  22. club — for dancing
  23. clip — for paper
  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