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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. court — of a king
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. court — for sport
  5. ground — the earth
  6. snap — to click
  7. ground — a position
  8. drill — a practice
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. drill — the tool
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. shower — to wash
  14. ground — crushed
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of law
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. saw — the tool
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. drill — army training
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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