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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. lean — thin
  6. rock — a stone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. file — a document
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rock — music
  11. lean — to bend
  12. mate — to breed
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — a box
  15. squash — to crush
  16. root — of a word
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. chest — of your body
  19. root — of a plant
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. root — the cause
  22. squash — the sport
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a line of people

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