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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — to rip
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. chest — of your body
  8. net — in sport
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. net — for catching
  11. tear — from crying
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chest — a box
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. net — after costs

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