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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 120 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. hand — in cards
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. last — to go on
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. net — in sport
  12. last — finally
  13. last — final
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. hand — help
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. net — for catching
  20. rush — hurry
  21. net — after costs
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rush — a thrill

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