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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cap — a hat
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cap — of ice
  6. fine — high quality
  7. cap — a lid
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fall — the season
  10. fine — all right
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fall — to drop
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. row — to paddle
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. swing — music
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tear — from crying
  21. swing — in golf
  22. tear — to rip
  23. row — a line
  24. tear — from crying

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