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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bound — certain
  4. mate — a partner
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wound — an injury
  7. drill — army training
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cell — in biology
  11. last — finally
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wound — an injury
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — a match
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mate — to breed
  18. last — final
  19. game — wild animals
  20. drill — a practice
  21. last — to go on
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cell — a phone

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