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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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. arm — part of the body
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bat — the animal
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — to paddle
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. bear — the animal
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. row — a line
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. tear — to rip
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. plane — a tool
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tear — from crying
  24. plane — an aircraft

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