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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rash — a series
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. cold — an illness
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. snap — to click
  10. perch — the fish
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chip — to eat
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. march — the month
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. march — the month
  23. rash — hasty
  24. march — music

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