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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. snap — to click
  4. bear — the animal
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. content — happy
  7. rule — a law
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. club — a group
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. rule — government
  17. content — the amount
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. club — for dancing
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. club — for golf

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