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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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tube — a container
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — to visit
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. mine — for digging
  19. tube — the underground
  20. pop — music
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. face — to point toward
  23. face — to confront
  24. arm — part of the body

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