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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bound — obliged
  3. net — after costs
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. mate — a partner
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. bound — tied together
  8. mate — to breed
  9. file — a line of people
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bound — certain
  12. swing — in golf
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. dip — to sink
  16. swing — to play on
  17. file — a document
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. file — a tool
  22. swing — music
  23. mate — a friend
  24. straw — a straw man

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