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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. chest — a box
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bat — the animal
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. press — to push
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. press — a publisher
  17. ground — crushed
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bear — the animal
  20. ground — a position
  21. chest — of your body
  22. press — newspapers
  23. row — to paddle
  24. chest — of your body

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