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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. pop — soda
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mate — a partner
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. degree — from a university
  8. squash — the sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. content — the amount
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. mate — to breed
  17. squash — to crush
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pop — to visit
  22. stand — to bear
  23. pop — music
  24. squash — the vegetable

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