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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 tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. charge — a price
  3. staff — employees
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. charge — electricity
  14. field — farmland
  15. toast — bread
  16. staff — employees
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. staff — a stick
  19. charge — in control
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. wake — a trail
  24. game — a kind of play

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