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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. face — to confront
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. spell — letters
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. row — a line
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. court — for sport
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. face — part of the head
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. court — of a king
  19. spell — magic
  20. face — to point toward
  21. spell — a short time
  22. court — of law
  23. row — to paddle
  24. dip — to sink

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