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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. rest — a break
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. rest — what's left
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mug — to rob
  13. fork — in a road
  14. rest — what's left
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. mug — a cup
  20. date — the fruit
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fork — to eat with

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