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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. cell — in biology
  9. file — a line of people
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. track — a path
  18. track — a song
  19. row — to paddle
  20. row — a line
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. track — to keep track
  24. cell — a phone

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