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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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. straw — a straw man
  3. track — to keep track
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. current — of water
  7. current — electric
  8. hand — help
  9. bear — the animal
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. track — a path
  12. game — wild animals
  13. scale — size or range
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. scale — in music
  17. current — happening now
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. game — a match
  20. bear — the animal
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. track — a song
  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