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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. chest — a box
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wax — to grow
  6. chest — of your body
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fine — high quality
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fine — all right
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. temple — side of the head

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