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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. mug — to rob
  5. mate — a partner
  6. face — to point toward
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. ground — the earth
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. face — part of the head
  11. mug — a face
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mug — a cup
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. dip — to sink
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. game — a match
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. game — wild animals
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — a practice
  23. mate — to breed
  24. face — to confront

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