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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 120 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. kid — child
  16. chest — a box
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — in football
  24. tear — from crying

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