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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. degree — temperature
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. spell — magic
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wound — an injury
  10. spell — letters
  11. wound — an injury
  12. ground — crushed
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. ground — the earth
  15. degree — an amount
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. wake — a trail
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. spell — a short time
  24. ground — a position

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