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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bore — to tire
  4. row — a line
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bore — to drill
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. file — a tool
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. row — to paddle
  12. deal — to handle
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. file — a document
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. date — the fruit

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