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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. object — a thing
  7. object — to protest
  8. ground — crushed
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. content — the amount
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — to be able to
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. wind — moving air
  17. ground — a position
  18. content — happy
  19. ground — the earth
  20. object — an aim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cold — not warm
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. can — a tin

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