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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. cell — in biology
  4. track — a path
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. race — the arms race
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. cell — a phone
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. pop — to visit
  12. race — a contest
  13. pop — soda
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rule — a law
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. dip — to sink
  20. rule — government
  21. chest — a box
  22. pop — music
  23. race — humankind
  24. straw — dry grass

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