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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 120 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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chest — a box
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — hasty
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mark — a trace
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. rash — a series
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mark — a grade
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. kid — child
  23. chest — of your body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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