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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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 — final
  3. bulb — for light
  4. club — for golf
  5. last — to go on
  6. club — a group
  7. hand — in cards
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. last — finally
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a tool
  13. hand — help
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. file — a document
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. bulb — for light
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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