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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. spell — letters
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. snap — to click
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. spell — magic
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. tube — the underground
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. spell — a short time
  18. tube — a container

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