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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. snap — to click
  3. season — of the year
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. season — in sport
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. mug — a cup
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mug — a face
  17. pop — to visit
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. pop — soda
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — tied together
  22. pop — music
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bound — certain

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