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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bear — the animal
  3. file — a document
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. spell — a short time
  6. bear — the animal
  7. court — of law
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. court — of a king
  10. object — an aim
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. object — a thing
  14. file — a tool
  15. court — for sport
  16. band — a music group
  17. spell — letters
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. spell — magic
  20. object — to protest
  21. band — a ring
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. file — a line of people
  24. pitcher — a jug

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