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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. craft — a skill
  4. clip — to cut
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. clip — for paper
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. clip — a video
  9. spring — a coil
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. craft — boats
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. dip — to sink
  18. pass — a permit
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. straw — dry grass

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