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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mate — a friend
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. drill — the tool
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bass — the fish
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. swing — music
  15. mate — a partner
  16. swing — to play on
  17. court — for sport
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bass — low music
  20. mate — to breed
  21. drill — army training
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. swing — in golf

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