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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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Word bank
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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wind — moving air
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. mate — a friend
  6. bear — the animal
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mate — to breed
  9. wake — a trail
  10. saw — the tool
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. chair — a leader
  17. mate — a partner
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. squash — the sport
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. chair — to sit on

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