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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. squash — to crush
  3. tear — to rip
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. roll — a cake
  10. court — for sport
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. kid — to tease
  13. tear — from crying
  14. roll — a list
  15. kid — child
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. season — in sport
  18. court — of a king
  19. squash — the sport
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — of law
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. season — of the year
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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