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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. saw — the tool
  4. last — to go on
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. swing — in golf
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. degree — an amount
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. craft — a skill
  12. swing — music
  13. saw — the tool
  14. degree — temperature
  15. swing — to play on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chair — a leader
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. craft — boats

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