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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. last — finally
  3. last — to go on
  4. mug — a cup
  5. court — of a king
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chest — of your body
  8. last — final
  9. current — happening now
  10. court — of law
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. current — electric
  16. content — happy
  17. mug — a face
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. content — the amount
  21. court — for sport
  22. mug — to rob
  23. saw — the tool
  24. current — of water

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