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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. rash — on the skin
  2. spell — a short time
  3. row — a line
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. march — the month
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. lean — to bend
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pass — a permit
  12. spell — letters
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — a box
  16. rash — a series
  17. lean — thin
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. spell — magic
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. rash — hasty
  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