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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. club — for dancing
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. club — for golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stand — to bear
  11. mine — for digging
  12. kid — child
  13. club — a group
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stand — on your feet

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