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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.

Make a worksheet

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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. spell — letters
  3. ball — a great time
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chest — a box
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chest — of your body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. spell — a short time
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. stem — to come from
  24. spell — magic

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