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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pop — to visit
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. roll — a list
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. pop — music
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. degree — an amount
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. degree — from a university
  15. band — a ring
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. foot — a measure
  20. degree — temperature
  21. band — a music group
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. roll — a cake
  24. foot — part of the body

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