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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. face — to confront
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. lean — to bend
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. face — part of the head
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. chip — for betting
  15. mug — a cup
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. mug — to rob
  22. lean — thin
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. face — to point toward

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