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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. game — wild animals
  5. craft — a skill
  6. last — final
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. face — part of the head
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. face — to confront
  15. game — a match
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. craft — boats

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