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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. kick — in football
  3. scale — size or range
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. scale — in music
  9. mark — a grade
  10. content — happy
  11. kid — child
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. file — a tool
  14. file — a line of people
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. file — a document
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. mark — a trace
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. content — the amount

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