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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. charge — electricity
  6. net — after costs
  7. wound — an injury
  8. ground — the earth
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. ground — a position
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. charge — a price
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. wound — an injury
  21. pound — a weight
  22. net — in sport
  23. charge — in control
  24. net — for catching

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