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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 124 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: straw · bat · arm · ground · tear · toast · net · bear

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bat — the animal
  6. ground — crushed
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. net — in sport
  13. bear — the animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. ground — a position
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. ground — the earth
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. tear — to rip

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