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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cold — not warm
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rush — hurry
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cold — an illness

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