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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: chair · arm · shower · lie · mate · content · net · mouse

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. shower — to wash
  3. content — the amount
  4. chair — a leader
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. net — in sport
  9. mate — a partner
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. lie — to recline
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mate — a friend
  15. mate — to breed
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. content — happy
  19. net — after costs
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. net — for catching
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. shower — rain

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