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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lean — thin
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. wind — moving air
  8. drill — army training
  9. spell — magic
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. spell — letters
  13. lean — to bend
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. chair — a leader
  16. drill — the tool
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a partner
  21. spell — a short time
  22. mate — a friend
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bat — for baseball

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