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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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468
Word bank
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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. rest — what's left
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. swing — to play on
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rest — what's left
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mate — a partner
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ball — a dance
  14. swing — music
  15. cold — not warm
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. ball — a great time
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rest — a break
  24. wound — an injury

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