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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. rock — music
  4. object — an aim
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. spring — the season
  7. rock — a stone
  8. game — a match
  9. row — a line
  10. spring — of water
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. row — to paddle
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — to wash
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. spring — a coil
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — to protest
  22. shower — rain
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. coach — a trainer

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