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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 120 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. net — after costs
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. firm — decided
  5. mug — to rob
  6. firm — a company
  7. mine — for digging
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. net — in sport
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. chair — a leader
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. degree — temperature
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. degree — from a university
  16. firm — steady
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — a face
  21. degree — an amount
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. net — for catching

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