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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. fine — high quality
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. kid — child
  8. march — the month
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. march — the month
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. file — a document
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. file — a tool
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bear — the animal
  19. march — music
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. fine — all right
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wake — a trail

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