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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bound — certain
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. season — in sport
  6. last — finally
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. row — a line
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. drill — army training
  15. row — to paddle
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. drill — the tool
  18. dip — to sink
  19. drill — a practice
  20. last — to go on
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. season — of the year
  24. last — final

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