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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. last — final
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — a friend
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. last — finally
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. last — to go on
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. row — a line
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. mate — to breed
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mine — for digging
  24. perch — the fish

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