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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — for golf
  5. last — final
  6. tear — to rip
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. band — a ring
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. last — finally
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. last — to go on
  17. club — for dancing
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stand — to bear
  21. band — a music group
  22. dip — to sink
  23. club — a group
  24. stand — on your feet

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