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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mate — to breed
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. land — to come down
  6. face — to confront
  7. net — in sport
  8. mate — a partner
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. land — a country
  12. land — ground
  13. net — after costs
  14. face — to point toward
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. face — part of the head
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a music group
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mate — a friend
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. band — a ring
  23. net — for catching
  24. band — a rubber band

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