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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. spring — a coil
  4. hand — help
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. spring — of water
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. hand — in cards
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. chest — a box
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. spring — the season
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mine — for digging
  18. leaves — lets stay

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