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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. present — a gift
  3. ball — a great time
  4. ball — a dance
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. hand — help
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. current — happening now
  10. present — there
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. present — the time now
  16. current — of water
  17. hand — in cards
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. current — electric
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — child

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