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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. bass — low music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. ground — crushed
  7. clip — a video
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. last — to go on
  13. ground — the earth
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. present — there
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. present — the time now
  19. ground — a position
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. last — finally
  22. present — a gift
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. temple — a place of worship

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