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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rash — a series
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bound — obliged
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. spell — magic
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. spell — letters
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. rash — hasty
  14. spring — the season
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bound — tied together
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bound — certain
  22. spring — of water
  23. rest — a break
  24. spring — a coil

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