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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. charge — a price
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. race — a contest
  5. track — a song
  6. capital — money
  7. track — to keep track
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. race — the arms race
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. race — humankind
  15. wound — an injury
  16. charge — electricity
  17. capital — a city
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wound — an injury
  20. charge — in control
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. track — a path
  23. cell — a phone
  24. lash — an eyelash

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