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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. bound — certain
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. face — to confront
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bound — tied together
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. face — part of the head
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. face — to point toward
  22. snap — to click
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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