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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. kick — in football
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. chest — a box
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chest — of your body
  12. last — finally
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mark — a trace
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. chest — of your body
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. mark — a grade
  24. racket — a loud noise

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