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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. spring — the season
  3. file — a line of people
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. court — for sport
  11. wake — a trail
  12. ground — a position
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. bat — the animal
  15. file — a tool
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. court — of a king
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. file — a document
  22. ground — crushed
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. ground — the earth

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