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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. chest — of your body
  3. hand — in cards
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. chest — a box
  6. mug — to rob
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. march — music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. hand — help
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. bass — low music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. mug — a cup
  16. march — the month
  17. board — a committee
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wound — an injury
  20. march — the month
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. board — to get on
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. arm — part of the body

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