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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 124 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. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wind — moving air
  4. season — of the year
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cold — not warm
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cap — a lid
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. cap — a hat
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. season — in sport
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. vault — a safe

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