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

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. 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. arm — part of the body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. roll — a list
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. court — of a king
  13. chair — a leader
  14. court — of law
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. court — for sport
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. 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