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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I seem to be developing 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. straw — dry grass
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pop — to visit
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pop — music
  10. sharp — clever
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. pop — soda
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. rash — a series
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — of water
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pit — in a race
  21. pit — a hole
  22. wound — an injury
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. rash — on the skin

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