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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. face — to confront
  6. cold — an illness
  7. firm — a company
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. cold — not warm
  12. firm — decided
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. face — to point toward
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rest — a break
  23. face — part of the head
  24. firm — steady

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