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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pit — a hole
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cap — a hat
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — a country
  20. land — ground
  21. sharp — clever
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cap — a lid
  24. cap — of ice

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