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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. lean — thin
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. row — to paddle
  6. lean — to bend
  7. scale — size or range
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. cell — a phone
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. scale — in music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. cell — in biology
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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