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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. ground — a position
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. key — for a lock
  6. saw — the tool
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ground — the earth
  11. key — the most important part
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. shower — rain
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rock — a stone
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. key — in music
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. shower — to wash
  22. ground — crushed
  23. rock — music
  24. saw — the tool

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