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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. staff — employees
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cell — in biology
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. date — the fruit
  10. chest — a box
  11. bass — the fish
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. chest — of your body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rash — a series
  22. bass — low music
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. staff — employees

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