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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. sharp — clever
  3. pitch — completely
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. last — finally
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. last — to go on
  16. court — for sport
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. court — of a king
  20. tube — a container
  21. last — final
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. court — of law

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