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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. last — finally
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — final
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. lie — to recline
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. last — to go on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. charge — electricity
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. tear — from crying
  16. charge — a price
  17. charge — in control
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. spring — the season
  24. wind — moving air

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