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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. swing — music
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spring — of water
  6. swing — to play on
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. lean — thin
  9. spring — a coil
  10. perch — the fish
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. swing — in golf
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. spring — the season

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