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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. mate — to breed
  3. land — to come down
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. mate — a friend
  6. land — ground
  7. lean — thin
  8. pop — to visit
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. land — a country
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mate — a partner
  13. lean — to bend
  14. date — the fruit
  15. kid — to tease
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. pop — soda
  18. pop — music
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — child
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. date — on the calendar

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