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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. root — the cause
  3. game — wild animals
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. kid — child
  6. lean — to bend
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bass — low music
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. root — of a word
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lean — thin
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wound — an injury
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bass — the fish
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. game — a match
  22. wound — an injury
  23. saw — the tool
  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