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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 120 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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cold — an illness
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. kick — in football
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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