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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fine — high quality
  3. last — finally
  4. last — to go on
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chest — of your body
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. fall — the season
  12. fine — all right
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. shower — rain
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — to drop
  19. last — final
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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