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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. tube — a container
  4. snap — to click
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wound — an injury
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. firm — steady
  12. tear — from crying
  13. firm — decided
  14. wake — a trail
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. firm — a company
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tube — the underground

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