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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 120 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: hand · tear · mug · perch · club · arm · ball · last

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. club — for dancing
  5. tear — from crying
  6. club — for golf
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. tear — from crying
  9. perch — the fish
  10. club — a group
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. tear — to rip
  13. ball — a dance
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hand — help
  18. ball — a great time
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mug — to rob
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — to go on
  23. hand — in cards
  24. perch — for a bird

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