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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. scale — in music
  7. spring — a coil
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rash — hasty
  13. spring — the season
  14. degree — an amount
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. degree — from a university
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. snap — to click
  19. rash — a series
  20. degree — temperature
  21. spring — of water
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. scale — size or range
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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