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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. charge — in control
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. stand — to bear
  7. tear — from crying
  8. land — a country
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — the animal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. land — ground
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. charge — a price
  18. sharp — clever
  19. tear — to rip
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. land — to come down
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. sharp — with an edge

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