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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. clip — a video
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. ball — a dance
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. clip — to cut
  18. hand — help
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. clip — for paper
  21. net — for catching
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. stem — to come from

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