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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. can — to be able to
  3. chair — a leader
  4. saw — the tool
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — happy
  7. saw — the tool
  8. fall — to drop
  9. chest — a box
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. can — a tin
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. can — a tin
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fall — the season
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chest — of your body
  21. content — the amount
  22. fall — to drop
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cabinet — ministers

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