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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. net — after costs
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. land — a country
  5. ball — a great time
  6. chip — for betting
  7. mug — a face
  8. net — for catching
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bark — to shout
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — to eat
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. ball — a dance
  19. land — ground
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. net — in sport
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. land — to come down
  24. mug — a cup

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