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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. spring — a coil
  4. race — humankind
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. present — a gift
  12. present — the time now
  13. mate — a partner
  14. bat — the animal
  15. race — the arms race
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mate — a friend
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spring — the season
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. race — a contest
  22. spring — of water
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. present — there

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