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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pop — music
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cold — not warm
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pop — soda
  12. track — a path
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mark — a grade
  20. pop — to visit
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. mark — a trace
  23. track — a song
  24. dip — to sink

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