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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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. land — ground
  4. face — to point toward
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — part of the head
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. fork — in a road
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rule — a law
  13. cell — a phone
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. land — a country
  17. rule — government
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. mark — a trace
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. mark — a grade
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. rule — to rule out

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