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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bear — the animal
  6. club — for golf
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. track — a path
  12. saw — the tool
  13. club — for dancing
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. club — a group
  16. track — to keep track
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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