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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. foot — a measure
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. court — for sport
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cell — a phone
  14. file — a line of people
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. cell — in biology
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. file — a document
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — the animal
  23. file — a tool
  24. court — of law

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