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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. swing — in golf
  4. cold — not warm
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. face — part of the head
  7. mate — a friend
  8. swing — to play on
  9. face — to point toward
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. mark — a trace
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. face — to confront
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mark — a grade
  18. swing — 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