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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. content — happy
  3. cell — a phone
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lie — to recline
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. mark — a grade
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. kid — child
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. cell — in biology
  24. content — the amount

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