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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. net — after costs
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. net — in sport
  11. land — a country
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. net — for catching
  18. land — to come down

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