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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. band — a ring
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rest — a break
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. band — a music group
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — in a road
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. spell — a short time
  20. rest — what's left
  21. spell — letters
  22. rest — what's left
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. spell — magic

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