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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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 — a coil
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. spring — the season
  5. squash — to crush
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mine — for digging
  9. current — happening now
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. season — in sport
  13. current — of water
  14. spring — of water
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. season — of the year
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. squash — the sport
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. current — electric
  24. prune — the fruit

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