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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 120 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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cell — in biology
  3. season — of the year
  4. fall — to drop
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. present — there
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. pop — soda
  10. present — a gift
  11. fall — the season
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pop — music
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. season — in sport
  21. fall — to drop
  22. pop — to visit
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. present — the time now

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