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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. file — a line of people
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. bass — the fish
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bass — low music
  10. mate — a friend
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. deal — to handle
  13. mate — to breed
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. date — the fruit
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mate — a partner
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. deal — a big deal

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