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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. shower — to wash
  7. mug — to rob
  8. mug — a face
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mate — to breed
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. mate — a partner
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mug — a cup
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. shower — rain
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. mate — a friend
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wound — an injury

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