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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. mate — a friend
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mate — a partner
  9. band — a ring
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mug — a face
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mug — to rob
  14. last — final
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. last — to go on
  19. mark — a trace
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. last — finally
  22. chest — a box
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mug — a cup

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