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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tube — a container
  3. last — finally
  4. snap — to click
  5. bore — to tire
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. object — to protest
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. object — an aim
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. swing — to play on
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bore — to drill
  15. swing — music
  16. tube — the underground
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. swing — in golf
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. object — a thing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. last — to go on
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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