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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — child
  7. chest — a box
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — a short time
  10. staff — employees
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. spell — letters
  17. kid — to tease
  18. fine — all right
  19. spell — magic
  20. fine — high quality
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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