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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. field — for sport
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. last — finally
  5. hand — in cards
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fall — to drop
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hand — help
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mate — a friend
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. field — a subject
  16. stem — to come from
  17. fall — to drop
  18. last — to go on
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. mate — a partner
  21. field — farmland
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mate — to breed
  24. fall — the season

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