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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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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: fan · march · mug · arm · dip · hand · jam · perch

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  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. mug — a face
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. mug — to rob
  6. mug — a cup
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. perch — the fish
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. hand — in cards
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. dip — to sink
  20. hand — help
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. arm — a part of something

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