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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: last · bound · bat · band · arm · straw · cue · face

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. last — finally
  3. band — a music group
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bound — tied together
  8. bound — obliged
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — the animal
  12. band — a ring
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — for pool
  16. last — to go on
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bound — certain
  20. last — final
  21. cue — a hint
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. face — to point toward
  24. arm — part of the body

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