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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bound — certain
  4. bound — obliged
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bound — tied together
  7. face — to point toward
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. land — ground
  10. chest — of your body
  11. land — to come down
  12. lean — to bend
  13. chest — a box
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. face — to confront
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. face — part of the head
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. land — a country
  23. lean — thin
  24. arm — a part of something

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