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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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. row — to paddle
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bound — obliged
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. bound — certain
  11. rash — hasty
  12. dip — to sink
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bound — tied together
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rash — a series
  17. row — a line
  18. capital — a city
  19. capital — money
  20. file — a tool
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. content — happy
  24. content — the amount

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