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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cue — a signal
  4. land — ground
  5. cue — for pool
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. present — the time now
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. land — to come down
  12. cue — a hint
  13. last — to go on
  14. band — a ring
  15. land — a country
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. present — a gift
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. last — final
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. present — there
  24. lie — to recline

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