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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. spring — the season
  3. hand — help
  4. spring — a coil
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. drill — the tool
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. hand — in cards
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. drill — army training
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. branch — a division
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. drill — a practice
  22. perch — the fish
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. perch — for a bird

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