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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. foot — a measure
  4. content — happy
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pitch — completely
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. wind — moving air
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. content — the amount
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. race — the arms race
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. prune — to trim

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