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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 am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. file — a tool
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. cue — a hint
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. cue — for pool
  11. file — a document
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. clip — to cut
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. clip — for paper
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. object — a thing
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. file — a line of people
  22. object — to protest
  23. object — an aim
  24. clip — a video

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