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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fall — to drop
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. chest — of your body
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. last — final
  9. stock — goods
  10. kid — to tease
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. fall — the season
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chest — of your body
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — child
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fall — to drop
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chest — a box
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. last — to go on

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