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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bass — the fish
  4. wound — an injury
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — to play on
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — music
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. chair — a professorship

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