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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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — to go on
  3. firm — a company
  4. kid — to tease
  5. rash — hasty
  6. kid — child
  7. firm — decided
  8. firm — steady
  9. last — final
  10. present — the time now
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — the fish
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. present — there
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. bass — low music
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. present — a gift
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rash — a series
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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