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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. present — there
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. fine — all right
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. present — the time now
  7. mark — a trace
  8. fine — high quality
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rest — a break
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. ball — a great time
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ball — a dance
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mark — a grade
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. present — a gift

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