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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bound — tied together
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bass — low music
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bound — obliged
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bound — certain
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. wave — with your hand

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