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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bound — certain
  5. face — to confront
  6. pit — in a race
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. track — a path
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. bound — obliged
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bound — tied together
  13. snap — to click
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pit — a hole
  16. face — to point toward
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. face — part of the head
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. track — to keep track
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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