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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. tear — to rip
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pitch — completely
  8. row — a line
  9. press — a publisher
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. press — newspapers
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — ground
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. press — to push
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. land — to come down
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. land — a country
  24. row — to paddle

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