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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together 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. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. craft — boats
  4. snap — to click
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. court — for sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mate — to breed
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of a king
  17. mate — a friend
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. saw — the tool
  20. craft — a skill
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. court — of law
  23. mate — a partner
  24. clip — for paper

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