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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bass — low music
  3. spring — a coil
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. last — to go on
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. mine — for digging
  10. last — final
  11. press — to push
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. last — finally
  19. press — a publisher
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kick — in football
  23. press — newspapers
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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