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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. firm — steady
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. hand — in cards
  10. vault — a safe
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. hand — help
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. firm — decided
  17. firm — a company
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. branch — a division
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bat — the animal
  24. hand — 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