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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. season — in sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. wake — a trail
  8. face — to point toward
  9. drill — the tool
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. ground — the earth
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. face — part of the head
  16. drill — a practice
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. drill — army training
  21. face — to confront
  22. ground — a position
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. season — of the year

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