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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · bay · kid · mine · wave · arm · cabinet · game

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. kid — to tease
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. game — a match
  12. kid — child
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. wave — with your hand

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