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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. track — a path
  6. pitch — completely
  7. land — ground
  8. content — the amount
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. track — to keep track
  12. scale — size or range
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. track — a song
  16. land — to come down
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. land — a country
  19. fall — to drop
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. content — happy
  24. fall — the season

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