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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 124 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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. file — a line of people
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. face — to point toward
  5. court — of a king
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. present — there
  9. land — ground
  10. present — the time now
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. file — a tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. court — of law
  16. file — a document
  17. rash — hasty
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. land — to come down
  22. present — a gift
  23. court — for sport
  24. land — a country

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