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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. rash — a series
  3. game — a match
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — hasty
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. firm — a company
  13. drill — army training
  14. chest — a box
  15. scale — in music
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — wild animals
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. firm — decided
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. straw — dry grass

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