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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. season — of the year
  3. cue — a signal
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. root — of a plant
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. face — to confront
  11. scale — in music
  12. wound — an injury
  13. root — of a word
  14. face — to point toward
  15. wound — an injury
  16. season — in sport
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cue — a hint
  19. scale — size or range
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. root — the cause
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cue — for pool

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