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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tear — to rip
  3. last — to go on
  4. bound — obliged
  5. staff — a stick
  6. last — final
  7. snap — to click
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. swing — in golf
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. last — finally
  12. tear — from crying
  13. swing — music
  14. staff — employees
  15. swing — to play on
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. bound — certain
  18. tear — from crying
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. staff — employees
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bound — tied together
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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