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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 partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. sharp — clever
  5. pass — a permit
  6. chest — a box
  7. bore — to drill
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. present — a gift
  10. spring — the season
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bore — to tire
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spring — a coil
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. spring — of water
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. pass — to succeed

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