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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. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bat — the animal
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pop — to visit
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. game — a match
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. row — a line
  17. game — wild animals
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. row — to paddle
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pit — in a race
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bat — in an idiom

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