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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. pitch — completely
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chest — of your body
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. hand — help
  17. club — for dancing
  18. stem — to come from
  19. chest — of your body
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. shower — rain
  22. chest — a box
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. arm — part of the body

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