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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. track — a song
  4. face — part of the head
  5. face — to point toward
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. plane — a tool
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. face — to confront
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chest — of your body
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rule — a law
  19. snap — to click
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. chest — a box
  22. rule — government
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. ruler — for measuring

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