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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. deal — to handle
  4. current — electric
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. staff — employees
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — goods
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. clip — a video
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. hand — in cards
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. staff — a stick
  18. current — of water
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. staff — employees
  24. current — happening now

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