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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. last — final
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. snap — to click
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. mate — to breed
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. last — to go on
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. last — finally
  15. mate — a friend
  16. present — a gift
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. lean — to bend
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. shower — to wash
  21. lean — thin
  22. present — the time now
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. present — there

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