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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — a hat
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cap — of ice
  8. season — in sport
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spell — a short time
  11. season — of the year
  12. band — a ring
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. spell — letters
  16. cold — an illness
  17. spell — magic
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a music group
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pitch — a sports field

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