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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. key — the most important part
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. key — in music
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cold — not warm
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bulb — for light
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. key — for a lock
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cold — an illness
  24. lash — an eyelash

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