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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. file — a line of people
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. file — a document
  8. club — for golf
  9. capital — a city
  10. shower — rain
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. file — a tool
  15. roll — a list
  16. stem — to come from
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. shower — to wash
  22. roll — a cake
  23. land — ground
  24. stem — of a plant

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