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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. court — for sport
  7. ground — a position
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. court — of law
  10. ground — the earth
  11. last — to go on
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — final
  14. cell — in biology
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cell — a phone
  19. ground — crushed
  20. court — of a king
  21. wake — a trail
  22. last — finally
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. safe — a strongbox

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