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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spell — magic
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. perch — the fish
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. ball — a great time
  13. spell — letters
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. foot — a measure
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. spell — a short time
  24. wound — an injury

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