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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against 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. cell — in a prison
  3. cue — a hint
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cue — a signal
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stem — to come from
  12. ground — the earth
  13. current — happening now
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. hand — help
  16. cue — for pool
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. hand — in cards
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. shower — rain
  22. current — electric
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. current — of water

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