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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. craft — boats
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spell — magic
  5. degree — from a university
  6. chip — to eat
  7. race — humankind
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. race — the arms race
  11. wound — an injury
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. craft — a skill
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. degree — an amount
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. degree — temperature
  21. chip — for betting
  22. race — a contest
  23. spell — letters
  24. craft — a handicraft

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