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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. present — a gift
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. present — there
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. net — for catching
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — a phone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. present — the time now
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. date — the fruit
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — after costs
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. net — in sport

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