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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — the animal
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. last — final
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. chair — a leader
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. kick — in football
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. last — finally
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. plane — a tool
  23. last — to go on
  24. temple — a place of worship

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