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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 120 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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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: dip · bat · fall · last · board · straw · wound · arm

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. last — finally
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wound — an injury
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. fall — the season
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wound — an injury
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. last — to go on
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fall — to drop
  24. last — final

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