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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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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. spring — the season
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — high quality
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mate — to breed
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mate — a friend
  12. hand — help
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. spring — of water
  17. hand — in cards
  18. 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