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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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. march — the month
  4. pitch — completely
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. march — music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kick — in football
  16. cap — a hat
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cold — not warm
  21. march — the month
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cap — a lid

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