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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. shower — rain
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. object — to protest
  8. chest — a box
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bat — the animal
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. rock — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rock — a stone
  16. object — a thing
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. object — an aim
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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