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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. degree — an amount
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. court — for sport
  9. vault — a safe
  10. scale — size or range
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. degree — from a university
  16. scale — in music
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — of law
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. chair — a leader
  23. kid — child
  24. degree — temperature

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