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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. face — to point toward
  4. drill — army training
  5. scale — in music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. drill — the tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. row — a line
  14. chest — of your body
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. face — to confront
  18. bass — low music
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. drill — a practice
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chest — a box
  23. bass — the fish
  24. row — to paddle

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