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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fall — the season
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. game — a match
  12. face — part of the head
  13. pound — a weight
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. face — to confront
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bat — the animal
  21. face — to point toward
  22. lie — to recline
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. fall — to drop

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