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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. row — to paddle
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. net — after costs
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. net — in sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rash — a series
  12. rest — a break
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wax — to grow
  16. row — a line
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. net — for catching
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. rest — what's left
  24. row — a quarrel

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