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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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cap — a lid
  6. bore — to tire
  7. wound — an injury
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wound — an injury
  10. last — to go on
  11. net — in sport
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. net — for catching
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. last — final
  19. bore — to drill
  20. net — after costs
  21. last — finally
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. wave — of the sea

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