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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rest — a break
  3. kid — to tease
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. chair — a leader
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bass — the fish
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. capital — money
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. capital — a city
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bass — low music
  19. kid — child
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. lean — thin
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. lean — to bend

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