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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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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. press — a publisher
  3. perch — the fish
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. press — newspapers
  8. press — to push
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. ball — a great time
  11. rest — a break
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. last — to go on
  15. rest — what's left
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. wind — moving air
  22. foot — a measure
  23. foot — the bottom
  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