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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. saw — the tool
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. squash — the sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. bat — the animal
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. row — a line
  18. chair — a leader
  19. squash — to crush
  20. row — to paddle
  21. foot — a measure
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lean — thin
  24. foot — the bottom

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