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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. firm — steady
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bat — the animal
  9. firm — decided
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ground — crushed
  14. firm — a company
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — for a lock
  18. pit — in a race
  19. ground — a position
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. pit — a hole
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ground — the earth
  24. arm — part of the body

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