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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.

Make a worksheet

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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tear — from crying
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. game — a match
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pit — in a race
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pit — a hole
  14. game — wild animals
  15. tear — to rip
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. coach — pulled by horses

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