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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. net — after costs
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. net — for catching
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bear — the animal
  13. net — in sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. foot — a measure
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. chest — of your body
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. last — finally
  24. chest — a box

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