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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. chest — a box
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. kick — in football
  12. mine — for digging
  13. net — after costs
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. net — for catching
  16. club — for golf
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. net — in sport
  19. club — a group
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. club — for dancing
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. mine — belonging to me

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