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

Word bank: content · fork · wake · wound · dip · wind · kid · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wake — a trail
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wound — an injury
  13. content — the amount
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. kid — child
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — to tease
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. content — happy
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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