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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. drill — the tool
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chair — a leader
  9. drill — army training
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. dip — to sink
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — the animal

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