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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. spring — the season
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. face — to point toward
  6. race — the arms race
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. chip — to eat
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. race — a contest
  12. field — farmland
  13. spring — of water
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. face — to confront
  17. chip — for betting
  18. field — a subject
  19. face — part of the head
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. stand — to bear
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — for sport
  24. spring — a coil

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