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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mate — a friend
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. mate — to breed
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. mark — a grade
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. spell — a short time
  14. mark — a trace
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. net — after costs
  19. mate — a partner
  20. net — for catching
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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