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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 120 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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. swing — music
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — a short time
  10. fall — to drop
  11. swing — to play on
  12. cold — an illness
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. swing — in golf
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. kid — child
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. fall — the season

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