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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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. fine — high quality
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. row — a line
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. last — final
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. last — to go on
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. staff — employees
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. last — finally
  19. kid — child
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. staff — employees
  23. row — to paddle
  24. staff — a stick

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