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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pop — to visit
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. march — the month
  8. pop — soda
  9. track — a path
  10. march — the month
  11. march — music
  12. last — final
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. track — to keep track
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. last — to go on
  18. hand — help
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. hand — in cards
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. track — a song
  23. last — finally
  24. pop — music

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