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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 120 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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. board — to get on
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. kick — in football
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — a phone
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. tear — from crying
  14. net — for catching
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. board — a committee
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wind — moving air

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