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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. sharp — clever
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. toast — bread
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pitch — completely
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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