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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. land — a country
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tear — from crying
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mug — a cup
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. key — in music
  11. content — the amount
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. land — ground
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bat — the animal
  18. content — happy
  19. land — to come down
  20. mug — to rob
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. tear — to rip
  23. key — for a lock
  24. mug — a face

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