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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. prune — to trim
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lie — to recline
  7. chest — of your body
  8. last — to go on
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. kid — child
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. ground — the earth
  17. snap — to click
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. chest — of your 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