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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. object — a thing
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mate — to breed
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mate — a friend
  9. fine — high quality
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. chest — of your body
  12. object — to protest
  13. fine — all right
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. object — an aim
  16. file — a tool
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — the animal

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