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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 120 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spell — letters
  5. chest — of your body
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. tube — the underground
  8. spell — magic
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. spell — a short time
  14. kick — in football
  15. vault — a safe
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. chest — a box
  23. tube — a container
  24. stem — to come from

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