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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. rush — hurry
  7. present — the time now
  8. last — final
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. present — there
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. present — a gift
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bat — the animal
  18. hand — help
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bore — to tire
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. last — to go on

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