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

Word bank: stick · straw · arm · hand · content · face · last · swing

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. content — the amount
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. last — finally
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. face — part of the head
  15. content — happy
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — to point toward
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. last — final
  22. swing — music
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. last — to go on

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