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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 trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rash — hasty
  8. clip — a video
  9. snap — to click
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. clip — for paper
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rash — a series
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. track — a path
  18. present — a gift
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a song
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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