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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. row — a line
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. net — in sport
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. kick — in football
  8. net — after costs
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. net — for catching
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. game — a match
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. mate — a partner
  17. game — wild animals
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. mate — to breed
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wind — moving air
  24. row — a quarrel

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