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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. bass — low music
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. clip — a video
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. bass — the fish
  13. saw — the tool
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. clip — to cut
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rush — hurry
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. shower — rain
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. saw — the tool
  24. clip — for paper

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