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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 works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. march — music
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. land — a country
  5. lean — thin
  6. last — finally
  7. firm — steady
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. march — the month
  10. lean — to bend
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. land — to come down
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. firm — decided
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. land — ground
  22. march — the month
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. arm — part of the body

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