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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. court — for sport
  4. wound — an injury
  5. ball — a dance
  6. wound — an injury
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. court — of law
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. content — happy
  21. court — of a king
  22. row — a line
  23. ball — a great time
  24. chair — a leader

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