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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. craft — boats
  3. fine — high quality
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. file — a tool
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. file — a document
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. shower — rain
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. craft — a skill
  19. shower — to wash
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fine — all right
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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