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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. last — finally
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. kid — child
  7. file — a line of people
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. file — a tool
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. file — a document
  14. last — final
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. chair — a leader
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. last — to go on
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. kid — to tease

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