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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. court — of a king
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. clip — to cut
  9. court — for sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. clip — for paper
  12. court — of law
  13. wind — moving air
  14. dip — to sink
  15. deal — to handle
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. clip — a video
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. pitch — completely

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