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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. court — for sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — from a university
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. chest — a box
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. saw — the tool
  10. court — of law
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. court — of a king
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — moving air
  19. chest — of your body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. chest — of your body
  22. saw — the tool
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wind — to turn a key

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