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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. lie — to recline
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. spring — the season
  8. club — a group
  9. kid — child
  10. cap — of ice
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. mug — a face
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — for dancing
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cap — a hat
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. spring — of water

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