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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. sharp — clever
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. chest — a box
  7. cell — in biology
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chest — of your body
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. craft — boats
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. object — to protest
  16. craft — a skill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. squash — the sport
  19. object — an aim
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. object — a thing
  22. cell — a phone
  23. squash — to crush
  24. craft — a handicraft

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