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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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. object — to protest
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. wind — moving air
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. object — a thing
  9. wind — moving air
  10. dip — to sink
  11. field — a subject
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. ground — a position
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. field — farmland
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a tool
  19. ground — the earth
  20. present — a gift
  21. file — a document
  22. field — for sport
  23. object — an aim
  24. ground — crushed

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