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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tube — the underground
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cell — in biology
  7. land — ground
  8. last — finally
  9. land — a country
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tube — a container
  12. bulb — for light
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. cell — a phone
  16. land — to come down
  17. last — to go on
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — happy
  20. last — final
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. racket — for tennis

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