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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kick — in football
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. drill — the tool
  5. spell — letters
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. squash — to crush
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. rest — what's left
  13. chest — a box
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. spell — a short time
  18. drill — a practice
  19. squash — the sport
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. craft — a skill
  22. spell — magic
  23. drill — army training
  24. craft — boats

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