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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. net — after costs
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. net — for catching
  8. suit — to fit
  9. cell — a phone
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. shower — rain
  14. lean — thin
  15. hand — in cards
  16. shower — to wash
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. suit — clothes
  22. cell — in biology
  23. net — in sport
  24. suit — in cards

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