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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 116 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. scale — size or range
  4. lean — thin
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. last — finally
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. row — a line
  9. staff — employees
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. scale — in music
  16. last — to go on
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. row — to paddle
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lean — to bend
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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