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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. snap — to click
  13. stock — shares
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. cold — an illness
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stock — goods
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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