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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. degree — an amount
  4. club — for dancing
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. club — a group
  7. tear — to rip
  8. club — for golf
  9. degree — temperature
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. degree — from a university
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hand — in cards
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rest — a break
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. hand — help
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. hand — part of the body

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