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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pass — a permit
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. pit — in a race
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. rash — hasty
  20. wind — moving air
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. game — a match
  24. pit — a hole

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