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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. net — after costs
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. hand — in cards
  5. net — for catching
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. degree — from a university
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. key — in music
  11. degree — temperature
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — the most important part
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. pit — a hole
  20. sharp — clever
  21. pit — in a race
  22. degree — an amount
  23. net — in sport
  24. sharp — with an edge

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