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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. land — to come down
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. dip — to sink
  12. land — a country
  13. wake — a trail
  14. key — the most important part
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. key — in music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. land — ground
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. perch — the fish
  24. pitch — completely

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