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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. chest — a box
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chair — a leader
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mark — a grade
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. race — the arms race
  17. race — humankind
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. mark — a trace
  20. shower — to wash
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. shower — rain
  23. race — a contest
  24. bowl — a football final

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