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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lean — to bend
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. chest — of your body
  8. row — to paddle
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. chest — of your body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. row — a line
  20. lean — thin
  21. chest — a box
  22. wound — an injury
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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