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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. dip — to sink
  7. perch — the fish
  8. file — a tool
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. board — to get on
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. board — a committee
  18. file — a document
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. file — a line of people

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