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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 felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. bass — low music
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. cold — not warm
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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