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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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. face — part of the head
  4. row — a line
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. rest — a break
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. row — to paddle
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rest — what's left
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. face — to point toward
  17. face — to confront
  18. roll — a cake
  19. rest — what's left
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — to go away

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