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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. ground — a position
  3. file — a line of people
  4. chest — a box
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. cell — in biology
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. wound — an injury
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. chest — of your body
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fine — all right
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — the earth
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. arm — a part of something

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