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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. key — for a lock
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. cell — a phone
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. key — the most important part
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. fine — high quality
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. key — in music
  18. wake — a trail
  19. board — a committee
  20. cell — in biology
  21. saw — the tool
  22. board — to get on
  23. saw — the tool
  24. nail — for a hammer

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