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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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chest — of your body
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. prune — to trim
  6. degree — temperature
  7. mate — to breed
  8. degree — an amount
  9. mate — a partner
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mate — a friend
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — boats
  21. tear — to rip
  22. saw — the tool
  23. degree — from a university
  24. chest — a box

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