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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bound — obliged
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. kid — child
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chair — a leader
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wound — an injury
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. wound — an injury

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