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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. row — a line
  4. last — finally
  5. swing — to play on
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. swing — in golf
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bulb — for light
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. last — final
  19. bulb — for light
  20. swing — music
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. row — to paddle
  23. track — to keep track
  24. last — to go on

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