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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. prune — to trim
  3. file — a document
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — a phone
  7. file — a tool
  8. ground — a position
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rest — what's left
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. prune — to trim
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. ground — crushed
  18. shower — rain
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. file — a line of people
  21. rest — what's left
  22. cell — in biology
  23. rest — a break
  24. mouse — the animal

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