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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 120 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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. spell — magic
  4. clip — to cut
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spell — letters
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cap — a hat
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fork — in a road
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. clip — for paper
  23. spell — a short time
  24. clip — a video

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