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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rule — government
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. rash — hasty
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rule — a law
  13. present — the time now
  14. swing — to play on
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. swing — music
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. present — a gift
  20. swing — in golf
  21. bat — the animal
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. rash — a series
  24. lash — to lash out

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