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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. hand — in cards
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. chair — a leader
  8. clip — for paper
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. spring — a coil
  12. firm — steady
  13. current — happening now
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. rash — hasty
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. firm — a company
  20. hand — help
  21. current — of water
  22. firm — decided
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — a video

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