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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chip — for betting
  3. spell — magic
  4. key — for a lock
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. key — in music
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. key — the most important part
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spell — letters
  17. cold — not warm
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. stand — to bear
  21. chip — to eat
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. cold — the Cold War

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