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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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. prune — to trim
  4. pop — music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. board — a committee
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — in cards
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. kid — to tease
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. pop — soda
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — to go on
  20. bass — low music
  21. kid — child
  22. board — to get on
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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