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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 124 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. ground — crushed
  3. track — a path
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. ground — a position
  8. file — a tool
  9. track — a song
  10. race — humankind
  11. track — to keep track
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. race — a contest
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. file — a document
  21. ground — the earth
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. file — a line of people

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