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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. kid — to tease
  7. craft — boats
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. net — after costs
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. court — of a king
  13. net — for catching
  14. court — of law
  15. snap — to click
  16. kid — child
  17. perch — the fish
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. net — in sport
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. craft — a skill
  23. court — for sport
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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