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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. wound — an injury
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. perch — the fish
  8. wound — an injury
  9. face — to point toward
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cold — an illness
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. cold — not warm
  20. face — part of the head
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. face — to confront
  24. nail — for a hammer

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