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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. face — to confront
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. key — for a lock
  12. bat — the animal
  13. face — part of the head
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. key — in music
  22. face — to point toward
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. key — the most important part

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