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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bound — certain
  7. row — a line
  8. rest — what's left
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rest — a break
  13. tear — from crying
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. bat — the animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. row — to paddle
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bound — obliged
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. row — a quarrel

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