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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 116 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's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. cap — a hat
  4. suit — clothes
  5. mug — to rob
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. suit — to fit
  9. mug — a cup
  10. suit — in cards
  11. land — to come down
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. cap — of ice
  14. fall — the season
  15. rash — a series
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. rash — hasty
  18. mug — a face
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. land — ground
  22. cap — a lid
  23. land — a country
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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