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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bulb — for light
  7. branch — a division
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. cue — a signal
  12. cue — a hint
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bulb — for light
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cue — for pool
  24. mine — an explosive

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