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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. roll — a cake
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. row — a line
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. chest — of your body
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. present — a gift
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. roll — a list
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. present — there
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. fork — in a road
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. row — to paddle
  21. present — the time now
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. chest — of your body
  24. straw — dry grass

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