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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. key — for a lock
  3. degree — an amount
  4. kid — child
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mate — a partner
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. kid — to tease
  9. net — for catching
  10. degree — temperature
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. mate — to breed
  13. net — after costs
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. degree — from a university
  17. track — to keep track
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. net — in sport
  20. track — a path
  21. mate — a friend
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  24. track — a song

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