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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. face — part of the head
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. land — ground
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. land — to come down
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. face — to confront
  13. land — a country
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. kid — child
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. pitch — completely
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. face — to point toward
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. kid — to tease
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. arm — part of the body

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