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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — a match
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bear — the animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hand — help
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hand — in cards
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. game — wild animals
  17. current — happening now
  18. rest — what's left
  19. current — electric
  20. bear — the animal
  21. current — of water
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. nail — on a finger

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