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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chest — a box
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. chip — to eat
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chest — of your body
  11. file — a line of people
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. snap — to click
  15. file — a document
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. chip — for betting
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. file — a tool

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