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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — a trace
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. season — of the year
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. key — for a lock
  11. lean — thin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mark — a grade
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. key — the most important part
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rash — a series
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lean — to bend
  23. season — in sport
  24. key — in 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