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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. band — a music group
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. swing — in golf
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. band — a ring
  11. swing — music
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. spell — magic
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. swing — to play on
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bass — low music
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — letters
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. spell — a short time
  24. straw — dry grass

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