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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. present — a gift
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. spring — a coil
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. lean — to bend
  16. spring — the season
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. present — there
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lean — thin
  21. present — the time now
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. date — the fruit
  24. spring — of water

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