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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. clip — for paper
  3. pass — a permit
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. rule — government
  12. clip — to cut
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. rule — a law
  19. chair — a leader
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — to tire

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