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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. chest — a box
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. degree — an amount
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. lie — to recline
  14. fork — in a road
  15. chest — of your body
  16. degree — from a university
  17. pass — a permit
  18. band — a music group
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. chest — of your body
  24. band — a rubber band

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