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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ball — a great time
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rest — a break
  13. key — the most important part
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. key — for a lock
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. key — in music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — for digging
  22. swing — music
  23. ball — a dance
  24. swing — in golf

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