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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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468
Word bank
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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. pit — a hole
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pit — in a race
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. snap — to click
  8. root — of a word
  9. last — finally
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. root — of a plant
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. root — the cause
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. leaves — lets stay

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