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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tube — the underground
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. lean — to bend
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spell — a short time
  11. file — a document
  12. chest — a box
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lean — thin
  15. file — a tool
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. spell — magic
  21. file — a line of people
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. tube — a container
  24. patient — a sick person

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