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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. chest — a box
  3. drill — the tool
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. squash — the sport
  12. drill — army training
  13. wound — an injury
  14. drill — a practice
  15. squash — to crush
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bore — to drill
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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