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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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 — part of the body
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. net — after costs
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. net — in sport
  12. bore — to tire
  13. net — for catching
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. chest — of your body
  19. plane — a tool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bore — to drill
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. game — a match
  24. jam — in traffic

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