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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. sharp — clever
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. lean — thin
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. charge — electricity
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. foot — a measure
  13. club — for dancing
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — in control
  17. last — finally
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — to bend
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. last — to go on
  23. clip — to cut
  24. sharp — with an edge

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