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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. swing — music
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. swing — to play on
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. swing — in golf
  24. bat — for baseball

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