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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 120 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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stock — shares
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — the season
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. court — of a king
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. bound — obliged
  9. charge — electricity
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. charge — a price
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bound — tied together
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bound — certain
  20. charge — in control
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stock — goods
  23. spring — of water
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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