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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. snap — to click
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — child
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chip — for betting
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. chip — to eat
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. perch — the fish
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — in biology
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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