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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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. track — to keep track
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. cap — a hat
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. rule — a law
  8. track — a path
  9. last — to go on
  10. rule — government
  11. stem — to come from
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. cap — a lid
  14. last — final
  15. drill — the tool
  16. last — finally
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. drill — army training
  19. track — a song
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cap — of ice
  24. racket — for tennis

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