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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bass — the fish
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. spell — magic
  9. row — a line
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — help
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. spell — letters
  16. row — to paddle
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — decided
  19. perch — the fish
  20. mate — to breed
  21. firm — a company
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mate — a friend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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