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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. march — the month
  4. chest — of your body
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. band — a music group
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wound — an injury
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. band — a ring
  16. march — music
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. scale — in music
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kick — in football
  24. march — the month

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