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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. track — to keep track
  3. firm — decided
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cell — in biology
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. firm — a company
  12. kick — in football
  13. kid — child
  14. firm — steady
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. cell — a phone
  19. track — a path
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. track — a song
  23. rash — a series
  24. straw — dry grass

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