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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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. net — in sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spring — a coil
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. firm — a company
  11. saw — the tool
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. firm — decided
  14. staff — a stick
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bat — the animal
  17. spring — the season
  18. squash — the sport
  19. firm — steady
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. staff — employees
  23. spring — of water
  24. staff — employees

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