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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. snap — to click
  5. hand — help
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. date — the fruit
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. hand — in cards
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. dip — to sink
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. date — on the calendar

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