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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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 — a match
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. cell — a phone
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. row — to paddle
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bore — to tire
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bore — to drill
  13. root — the cause
  14. vault — a safe
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. row — a line
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. dip — to sink
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. root — of a word
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. root — of a plant
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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