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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. spell — letters
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. row — a line
  11. bat — the animal
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. chip — for betting
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. perch — the fish
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bore — to tire
  20. chip — to eat
  21. swing — in golf
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bore — to drill
  24. straw — dry grass

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