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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. spell — a short time
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wound — an injury
  7. ball — a great time
  8. spell — magic
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. squash — to crush
  14. spell — letters
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. squash — the sport
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. plane — a tool
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — a price
  22. ball — a dance
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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