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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · saw · fine · last · straw · roll · hand · jam

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. last — final
  4. fine — all right
  5. tube — a container
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. roll — a cake
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fine — high quality
  12. hand — in cards
  13. roll — a list
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. last — finally
  16. hand — help
  17. tube — the underground
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. last — to go on
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. tube — in a tire

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