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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 124 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. drill — the tool
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. content — happy
  6. cap — of ice
  7. drill — a practice
  8. saw — the tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cap — a hat
  12. content — the amount
  13. drill — army training
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wind — moving air
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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