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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. rash — a series
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. deal — to handle
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. band — a ring
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. prune — to trim
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. court — of law
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. court — of a king

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