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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 120 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. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. swing — music
  8. plane — a tool
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. lie — to recline
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. capital — money
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. drill — the tool
  18. cold — an illness
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. swing — to play on
  22. drill — army training
  23. cold — not warm
  24. capital — a city

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