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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — of law
  4. fine — all right
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. drill — army training
  10. charge — electricity
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. wind — moving air
  14. court — for sport
  15. drill — the tool
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. wind — moving air
  19. drill — a practice
  20. charge — a price
  21. court — of a king
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. charge — in control
  24. straw — dry grass

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