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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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 — in sport
  3. roll — a cake
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rest — a break
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rest — what's left
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — after costs
  16. rock — music
  17. rock — a stone
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wind — moving air
  20. net — for catching
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. roll — a list

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