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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. root — the cause
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. capital — money
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — a city
  14. wound — an injury
  15. root — of a plant
  16. ball — a great time
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. ball — a dance
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. root — of a word
  24. capital — a big letter

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