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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. drill — army training
  3. pit — a hole
  4. rash — a series
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. drill — the tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rash — hasty
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. drill — a practice
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. march — music
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. pit — in a race

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