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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pop — to visit
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. chair — a leader
  5. pop — music
  6. key — for a lock
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bank — of a river
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — soda
  16. fine — high quality
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bank — for money
  19. key — in music
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. key — the most important part
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bank — for money

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