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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. row — a line
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — letters
  7. current — happening now
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. current — of water
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. stem — to come from
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bound — certain
  15. chip — to eat
  16. current — electric
  17. chip — for betting
  18. bound — obliged
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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