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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. dip — to sink
  5. content — the amount
  6. shower — to wash
  7. content — happy
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. field — farmland
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mate — a friend
  13. field — a subject
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. mate — a partner
  16. shower — rain
  17. field — for sport
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. mate — to breed

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