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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. snap — to click
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. chair — a leader
  13. squash — the sport
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — in music
  17. key — for a lock
  18. squash — to crush
  19. sharp — clever
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. arm — part of the body

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