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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. face — part of the head
  3. suit — to fit
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. file — a document
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. face — to confront
  9. face — to point toward
  10. march — music
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. march — the month
  13. land — a country
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. march — the month
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — in cards
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. file — a tool
  23. kick — in football
  24. straw — dry grass

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