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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. tube — a container
  9. court — of law
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — of a king
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cap — a lid
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. cap — a hat
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. court — for sport
  21. rash — a series
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wake — a trail
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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