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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. craft — a skill
  4. staff — a stick
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. staff — employees
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. sharp — clever
  13. chest — of your body
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. chest — a box
  16. mate — a partner
  17. staff — employees
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. mate — to breed
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bat — the animal
  22. mate — a friend
  23. craft — boats
  24. bat — for baseball

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