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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. face — to confront
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. face — to point toward
  9. march — the month
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chest — of your body
  12. face — part of the head
  13. chest — a box
  14. dip — to sink
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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