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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. present — there
  3. drill — the tool
  4. key — in music
  5. net — after costs
  6. key — the most important part
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. present — the time now
  9. drill — a practice
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. key — for a lock
  13. last — final
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. present — a gift
  16. pop — to visit
  17. net — in sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. pop — soda
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. drill — army training
  23. net — for catching
  24. pop — music

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