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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — to go on
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — in golf
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. last — final
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. swing — to play on
  22. last — finally
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wound — an injury

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