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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. drill — army training
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. current — electric
  6. drill — the tool
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. current — happening now
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. current — of water
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. scale — in music
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fork — in a road
  18. stem — to come from
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. drill — a practice
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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