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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cell — a phone
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. band — a music group
  9. squash — the sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. shower — rain
  12. face — to point toward
  13. squash — to crush
  14. face — to confront
  15. cell — in biology
  16. object — to protest
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. shower — to wash
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. object — an aim
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. object — a thing
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. face — part of the head

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