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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. chest — of your body
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. chest — a box
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chest — of your body
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. kid — child
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. sharp — clever
  20. snap — to click
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. kid — to tease
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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