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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mine · toast · last · ground · arm · rash · march · straw

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. toast — bread
  8. last — final
  9. ground — the earth
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. ground — crushed
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. march — the month
  18. last — to go on
  19. rash — hasty
  20. last — finally
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. march — music

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