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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. deal — to handle
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. field — farmland
  7. row — to paddle
  8. wind — moving air
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. wind — moving air
  14. roll — a cake
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. row — a line
  21. roll — a list
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. roll — on a roll

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