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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bound — obliged
  7. cap — of ice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. date — the fruit
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cell — a phone
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — army training
  17. cap — a hat
  18. wind — moving air
  19. bound — tied together
  20. squash — to crush
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bound — certain
  24. wind — to turn a key

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