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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. scale — size or range
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. scale — in music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bark — to shout
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cap — of ice
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kick — in football
  18. fall — to drop
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fall — the season
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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