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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. can — to be able to
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. can — a tin
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. present — the time now
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. can — a tin
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. field — for sport
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bear — the animal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. present — a gift
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. capital — money
  21. present — there
  22. capital — a city
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bear — to put up with

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