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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. last — final
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bat — the animal
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. staff — employees
  14. tube — the underground
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. last — finally
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. last — to go on
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. staff — employees
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. tube — a container

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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