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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. season — of the year
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. chest — a box
  5. bass — the fish
  6. land — a country
  7. drill — a practice
  8. chest — of your body
  9. season — in sport
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. land — to come down
  14. drill — army training
  15. land — ground
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. chest — of your body
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bass — low music
  24. arm — part of the body

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