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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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pound — a weight
  3. mate — a partner
  4. wake — a trail
  5. march — music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. mate — to breed
  8. clip — to cut
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. mate — a friend
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. march — the month
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. march — the month
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. wake — before a funeral

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