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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. stem — to come from
  3. tear — from crying
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. ball — a great time
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. key — in music
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ball — a dance
  15. key — for a lock
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. content — the amount
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. key — the most important part
  21. chest — a box
  22. content — happy
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. stem — a stem cell

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