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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. file — a tool
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. mate — a partner
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cold — not warm
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. branch — a division
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. file — a document
  14. pound — a weight
  15. cold — an illness
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. foot — a measure
  19. snap — to click
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. mate — a friend
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. file — a line of people

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