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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fall — to drop
  3. root — of a word
  4. cold — not warm
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — an aim
  10. fall — to drop
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. root — of a plant
  13. court — for sport
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. root — the cause
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. object — a thing
  20. court — of law
  21. cold — an illness
  22. court — of a king
  23. fall — the season
  24. coach — a trainer

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