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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. mug — to rob
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mug — a face
  6. kid — child
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spring — the season
  9. staff — employees
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. staff — employees
  15. spring — of water
  16. mug — a cup
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. staff — a stick
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. kid — to tease
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. coach — a trainer

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