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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rock — a stone
  4. ground — crushed
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. rock — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. ground — a position
  15. bark — to shout
  16. face — to point toward
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. face — to confront
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. squash — the sport
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. face — part of the head

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