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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  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. land — to come down
  2. hand — in cards
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. hand — help
  5. chest — of your body
  6. land — ground
  7. firm — decided
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — what's left
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. degree — an amount
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. land — a country
  20. rest — a break
  21. firm — steady
  22. chest — a box
  23. firm — a company
  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