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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. stock — shares
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. rock — a stone
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. stock — goods
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. kid — to tease
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rush — hurry
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bat — the animal
  21. squash — the sport
  22. rock — music
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. kid — child

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