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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 words: he'll be late again.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. hand — in cards
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. row — to paddle
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. hand — help
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wind — moving air
  16. row — a line
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. mark — a grade
  24. row — a quarrel

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