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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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. face — to point toward
  3. cap — a lid
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. deal — to handle
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cap — of ice
  10. capital — money
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. kid — child
  14. face — to confront
  15. cold — an illness
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. capital — a city
  18. cold — not warm
  19. dip — to sink
  20. face — part of the head
  21. cap — a hat
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. kid — to tease
  24. deal — a big deal

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