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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cap — a hat
  3. cap — of ice
  4. perch — the fish
  5. file — a tool
  6. content — happy
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cap — a lid
  9. face — to point toward
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — in biology
  12. root — of a word
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. face — to confront
  15. root — of a plant
  16. face — part of the head
  17. file — a document
  18. content — the amount
  19. root — the cause
  20. file — a line of people
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cell — a phone
  24. arm — a part of something

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