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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. court — of law
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chest — a box
  6. ball — a great time
  7. degree — temperature
  8. bore — to tire
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. court — for sport
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. bore — to drill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — an amount
  21. chest — of your body
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. court — of a king
  24. squash — to crush

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