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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. hand — help
  4. band — a music group
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. band — a ring
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. hand — in cards
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rule — a law
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kick — in football
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. rash — a series

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