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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wound — an injury
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. row — a line
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bass — low music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rash — a series
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bear — the animal
  24. row — to paddle

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