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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. land — a country
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stand — to bear
  7. court — for sport
  8. pit — in a race
  9. vault — a safe
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cap — a lid
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. land — ground
  17. court — of law
  18. land — to come down
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. pit — a hole
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. court — of a king

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