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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. firm — steady
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. hand — in cards
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. net — for catching
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. firm — a company
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. net — in sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. firm — decided
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. net — after costs
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. hand — help

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