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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ball — a dance
  5. squash — to crush
  6. ground — the earth
  7. mark — a trace
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. mark — a grade
  12. squash — the sport
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ball — a great time
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. mine — for digging
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. ground — crushed
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. ground — a position

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