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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. spring — the season
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. spring — a coil
  8. staff — employees
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. degree — an amount
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — happy
  14. rash — a series
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. degree — from a university
  18. staff — a stick
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. staff — employees
  23. rash — hasty
  24. spring — of water

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