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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: racket · snap · chair · straw · season · sharp · lie · cold

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cold — not warm
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. season — of the year
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. season — in sport
  12. lie — to recline
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. snap — to click
  16. cold — an illness
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. sharp — clever
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. chair — a leader

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