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

Word bank: mark · arm · wake · bulb · wind · ground · kid · chest

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chest — a box
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — child
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wind — moving air
  8. mark — a trace
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. kid — to tease
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. bulb — for light
  18. ground — a position
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. ground — crushed
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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