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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. file — a tool
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mate — a partner
  9. row — to paddle
  10. file — a line of people
  11. mate — to breed
  12. row — a line
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. mate — a friend
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. file — a document
  24. wind — to turn a key

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