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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. shower — to wash
  4. degree — an amount
  5. roll — a cake
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. charge — in control
  8. charge — a price
  9. degree — temperature
  10. roll — a list
  11. shower — rain
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. file — a line of people
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. degree — from a university
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. charge — electricity
  23. band — a music group
  24. roll — on a roll

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