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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 116 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. firm — a company
  5. kid — child
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bass — the fish
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. firm — decided
  10. face — to point toward
  11. firm — steady
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. land — ground
  15. face — to confront
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. land — to come down
  18. kid — to tease
  19. land — a country
  20. bass — low music
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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