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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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. clip — for paper
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. mug — to rob
  8. degree — an amount
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. clip — a video
  11. perch — the fish
  12. current — of water
  13. wind — moving air
  14. race — a contest
  15. current — happening now
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. current — electric
  18. clip — to cut
  19. mug — a cup
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. mug — a face

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