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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. branch — a division
  3. clip — to cut
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rule — government
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. game — a match
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. content — happy
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. pound — a weight
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. content — the amount
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. rule — a law

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