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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. capital — a city
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. court — of law
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. lean — thin
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. court — for sport
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. court — of a king
  20. bass — the fish
  21. chest — a box
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bass — the instrument

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