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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. march — the month
  4. court — of a king
  5. land — a country
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. bound — obliged
  8. lean — thin
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. march — the month
  11. land — to come down
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bound — tied together
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bound — certain
  16. march — music
  17. court — of law
  18. land — ground
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. chip — to eat
  22. saw — the tool
  23. chip — for betting
  24. court — for sport

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