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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pop — music
  4. bat — the animal
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. suit — to fit
  7. fine — high quality
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. pop — to visit
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. suit — clothes
  14. land — to come down
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. land — ground
  18. bark — to shout
  19. pop — soda
  20. land — a country
  21. suit — in cards
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — in an idiom

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