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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. bark — to shout
  15. capital — money
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. capital — a city
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. fan — a supporter

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