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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. game — a match
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. saw — the tool
  6. present — there
  7. present — the time now
  8. net — in sport
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. net — for catching
  12. game — wild animals
  13. saw — the tool
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. net — after costs
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. date — the fruit
  23. present — a gift
  24. wake — a trail

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