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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bear — the animal
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bear — the animal
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. cold — an illness
  12. current — happening now
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. current — electric
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. pop — music
  17. land — to come down
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pop — to visit
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. pop — soda
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. current — of water
  24. sharp — clever

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