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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. net — in sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. track — a song
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. net — after costs
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. hand — help
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. hand — in cards
  22. net — for catching
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. track — a path

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