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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 124 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. last — final
  3. rest — a break
  4. last — finally
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. kick — in football
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. last — to go on
  11. face — to point toward
  12. court — of law
  13. rest — what's left
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. court — for sport
  16. chest — of your body
  17. face — part of the head
  18. bore — to tire
  19. face — to confront
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. court — of a king
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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