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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. craft — boats
  4. roll — a list
  5. cold — an illness
  6. foot — a measure
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — not warm
  11. craft — a skill
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. hand — in cards
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. hand — help
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wake — a trail

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