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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cell — in biology
  3. saw — the tool
  4. net — in sport
  5. cell — a phone
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. saw — the tool
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. net — after costs
  10. last — finally
  11. spring — of water
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. can — to be able to
  17. spring — a coil
  18. last — final
  19. can — a tin
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. last — to go on
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. can — a tin
  24. spring — the season

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