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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. firm — a company
  3. rest — what's left
  4. object — to protest
  5. drill — army training
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. content — happy
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. hand — help
  17. object — an aim
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — the amount
  21. firm — steady
  22. firm — decided
  23. object — a thing
  24. rest — a break

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