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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. present — the time now
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. ball — a great time
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hand — help
  11. cue — a hint
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. chest — a box
  18. present — there
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. cue — a signal
  22. fork — in a road
  23. present — a gift
  24. cue — for pool

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