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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. spring — a coil
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. last — to go on
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. last — finally
  7. tube — a container
  8. shower — rain
  9. shower — to wash
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. tube — the underground
  14. prune — to trim
  15. last — final
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. prune — to trim
  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