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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 120 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 not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wound — an injury
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. bass — low music
  6. capital — money
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. ball — a great time
  12. kick — in football
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. ball — a dance
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rock — a stone
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rock — music
  24. kick — with a leg

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