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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. march — the month
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. cap — of ice
  9. squash — to crush
  10. clip — a video
  11. lean — to bend
  12. march — music
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. lean — thin
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — government
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. cap — a hat
  19. kick — in football
  20. clip — for paper
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — to cut
  23. cap — a lid
  24. lean — to rest against

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