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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. chest — a box
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. staff — employees
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — music
  10. chest — of your body
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. degree — from a university
  16. degree — temperature
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. staff — employees
  20. pop — soda
  21. roll — a list
  22. roll — a cake
  23. degree — an amount
  24. straw — dry grass

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