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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. file — a document
  7. chest — a box
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. file — a tool
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. game — a match
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — a trail
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. toast — bread
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bulb — for light

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