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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. land — to come down
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. wax — to grow
  6. rash — a series
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. land — ground
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rash — hasty
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. land — a country
  23. chest — a box
  24. coach — a trainer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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