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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 116 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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. hand — help
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. pit — in a race
  12. hand — in cards
  13. race — a contest
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. capital — money
  21. race — humankind
  22. pit — a hole
  23. capital — a city
  24. race — the arms race

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