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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. season — in sport
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cold — an illness
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rule — a law
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. file — a line of people
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. file — a document
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. rule — government
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. file — a tool
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. craft — a skill
  24. season — of the year

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