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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. last — final
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. swing — music
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. ball — a dance
  8. lean — thin
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mark — a trace
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. swing — in golf
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. last — finally
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. lean — to bend
  19. mark — a grade
  20. last — to go on
  21. swing — to play on
  22. track — to keep track
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. arm — part of the body

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