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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. cell — in biology
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. cell — a phone
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. field — for sport
  8. deal — to handle
  9. spell — letters
  10. spell — magic
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. roll — a list
  13. field — farmland
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. ground — the earth
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. ground — crushed
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. roll — a cake
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — a position
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. spell — a short time

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