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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pass — a permit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. track — a path
  7. face — part of the head
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. track — to keep track
  16. land — ground
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. content — the amount
  20. land — a country
  21. content — happy
  22. land — to come down
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wound — an injury

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