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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 · fall · cold · nail · arm · ruler · chair · snap

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. snap — to click
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. chair — a leader
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. fall — the season
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. fall — to drop

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