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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. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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 — with a leg
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bound — obliged
  6. kick — in football
  7. object — an aim
  8. shower — rain
  9. spell — magic
  10. spell — letters
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. object — to protest
  15. bound — certain
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. object — a thing
  20. bore — to tire
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bore — to drill
  24. arm — a part of something

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