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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. fall — to drop
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kick — in football
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. sharp — clever
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. saw — the tool
  14. fall — the season
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. fall — to drop

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