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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. mate — a partner
  3. hand — help
  4. staff — employees
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mate — to breed
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. branch — a division
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. snap — to click
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — to grow
  19. staff — employees
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mate — a friend
  24. staff — a stick

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