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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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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: cell · mine · straw · pitcher · squash · fine · saw · game

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. game — a match
  3. saw — the tool
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. fine — high quality
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. mine — for digging
  19. squash — the sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. game — wild animals
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cell — a phone
  24. squash — the vegetable

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