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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chip — to eat
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. land — to come down
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. land — a country
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cap — a lid
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cap — of ice
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — boats
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. land — ground
  19. clip — to cut
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. clip — a video
  22. craft — a skill
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. clip — for paper

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