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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. kid — child
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. race — the arms race
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. wound — an injury
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. race — a contest
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. lie — to recline
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. saw — the tool
  18. wound — an injury
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. race — humankind
  24. mine — an explosive

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