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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: game · track · bore · ball · arm · rush · content · spring

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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 — part of the body
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. track — a path
  7. spring — the season
  8. track — a song
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rush — hurry
  13. content — happy
  14. bore — to drill
  15. game — wild animals
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. game — a match
  18. bore — to tire
  19. content — the amount
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. track — to keep track
  23. spring — of water
  24. arm — a part of something

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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