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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. net — after costs
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bass — low music
  8. pit — in a race
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. net — in sport
  12. bass — the fish
  13. content — happy
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. club — for golf
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. club — a group
  22. net — for catching
  23. content — the amount
  24. arm — part of the body

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