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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 120 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spring — the season
  4. court — for sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pit — a hole
  7. spring — of water
  8. court — of law
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. deal — to handle
  14. pit — in a race
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. spring — a coil
  17. tear — to rip
  18. court — of a king
  19. wound — an injury
  20. tear — from crying
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. wound — an injury
  24. tear — from crying

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