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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. kid — to tease
  3. land — ground
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bore — to tire
  8. file — a tool
  9. land — to come down
  10. march — music
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. march — the month
  14. can — a tin
  15. march — the month
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. file — a line of people
  19. can — to be able to
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — a country
  22. file — a document
  23. bore — to drill
  24. can — a tin

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