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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. roll — a cake
  3. game — wild animals
  4. content — the amount
  5. chest — of your body
  6. roll — a list
  7. fine — high quality
  8. chest — of your body
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. rest — a break
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — a box
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. content — happy
  19. rest — what's left
  20. fine — all right
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. game — a match
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. roll — on a roll

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