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

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. can — a tin
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. can — a tin
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. fall — the season
  8. clip — for paper
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. clip — to cut
  15. can — to be able to
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. pitch — completely
  19. scale — size or range
  20. fall — to drop
  21. clip — a video
  22. scale — in music
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — a straw man

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