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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. swing — music
  5. march — the month
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chip — for betting
  11. snap — to click
  12. march — music
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chip — to eat
  21. march — the month
  22. swing — to play on
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. mouse — the animal

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