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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. spring — the season
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. field — farmland
  7. current — of water
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spring — a coil
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. field — a subject
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. dip — to sink
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in biology
  16. spring — of water
  17. current — happening now
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. vault — a safe
  20. current — electric
  21. roll — a list
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. roll — a cake
  24. field — for sport

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