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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bound — obliged
  5. club — for golf
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bound — tied together
  12. saw — the tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bound — certain
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. cold — an illness
  23. club — a group
  24. cold — the Cold War

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