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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a ring
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. club — a group
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. club — for dancing
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. band — a music group
  12. net — for catching
  13. scale — size or range
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. scale — in music
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. straw — a straw man

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