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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. chest — a box
  4. mate — to breed
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mate — a friend
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. fine — all right
  11. bat — the animal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. shower — rain
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. mate — a partner
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stem — to come from
  23. plane — a tool
  24. fine — high quality

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