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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 is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. lean — thin
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. row — to paddle
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. content — happy
  9. row — a line
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bark — to shout
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. content — the amount
  20. fine — all right
  21. mine — for digging
  22. plane — a tool
  23. fine — high quality
  24. mine — an explosive

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