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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. last — finally
  3. mate — to breed
  4. file — a tool
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. file — a document
  7. mate — a friend
  8. last — final
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. mate — a partner
  11. bass — the fish
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. file — a line of people
  17. last — to go on
  18. bass — low 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