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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. hand — in cards
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. kid — child
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. degree — from a university
  15. kid — to tease
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. fine — all right
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. degree — an amount
  23. degree — temperature
  24. fine — high quality

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