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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. last — final
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. season — of the year
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. march — the month
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. march — music
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pitch — completely
  17. last — to go on
  18. march — the month
  19. last — finally
  20. deal — to handle
  21. dip — to sink
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stem — a stem cell

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