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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. bear — the animal
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. last — finally
  20. row — a line
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. last — to go on
  24. bat — for baseball

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