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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spring — the season
  6. firm — steady
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. firm — decided
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. kick — in football
  17. bound — obliged
  18. firm — a company
  19. spring — of water
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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