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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cold — an illness
  3. band — a music group
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. pit — a hole
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. band — a ring
  18. chest — a box
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. lash — an eyelash

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