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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. last — to go on
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. hand — help
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. pass — a permit
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. last — final
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. cell — in biology
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. squash — to crush
  18. last — finally
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. hand — in cards

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