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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. club — for golf
  3. prune — to trim
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. land — a country
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cold — not warm
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. club — a group
  23. club — for dancing
  24. prune — to trim

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