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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. roll — a cake
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. field — for sport
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. row — to paddle
  13. dip — to sink
  14. field — a subject
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. row — a line
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. field — farmland
  24. roll — a list

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