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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. ball — a dance
  5. current — electric
  6. face — to confront
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. current — of water
  9. face — to point toward
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. file — a line of people
  12. face — part of the head
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. track — a song
  15. content — the amount
  16. ball — a great time
  17. track — to keep track
  18. shower — rain
  19. current — happening now
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. shower — to wash
  22. track — a path
  23. content — happy
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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