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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. scale — size or range
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. scale — in music
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. cold — not warm
  18. wave — with your hand

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