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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. key — the most important part
  3. cold — not warm
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — a division
  6. craft — boats
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. race — the arms race
  11. stem — to come from
  12. key — in music
  13. craft — a skill
  14. race — humankind
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. key — for a lock
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. race — a contest
  23. tube — a container
  24. straw — dry grass

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