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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. net — after costs
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. firm — a company
  5. club — a group
  6. wake — a trail
  7. firm — decided
  8. net — in sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. club — for golf
  14. net — for catching
  15. last — finally
  16. chest — a box
  17. firm — steady
  18. club — for dancing
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. roll — a cake

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