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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. rash — hasty
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. can — a tin
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rash — a series
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. row — a line
  16. foot — a measure
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. can — to be able to
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. can — a tin
  22. row — to paddle
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. straw — a straw man

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