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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: ball · mouse · tear · arm · spring · hand · rush · snap

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. ball — a dance
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rush — hurry
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hand — in cards
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. spring — a coil
  19. ball — a great time
  20. spring — the season
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. spring — of water
  24. snap — to click

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