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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 124 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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stem — to come from
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. toast — bread
  7. content — happy
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. swing — in golf
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. ball — a dance
  16. content — the amount
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. stem — a stem cell

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