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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bank — for money
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bank — of a river
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cell — a phone
  13. field — a subject
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cue — a hint
  16. field — for sport
  17. cell — in biology
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cue — a signal
  20. bank — for money
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. fall — the season
  23. field — farmland
  24. prune — to trim

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