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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kid — to tease
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bound — obliged
  8. tube — a container
  9. kid — child
  10. last — finally
  11. bound — tied together
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. last — to go on
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bound — certain
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. last — final

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