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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. file — a document
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. kid — child
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. net — after costs
  10. file — a tool
  11. degree — from a university
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. file — a line of people
  14. kid — to tease
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. net — in sport
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. degree — an amount
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. degree — temperature

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