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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: toast · arm · bat · rush · mine · cell · deal · row

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. deal — to handle
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. bat — the animal
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. mine — belonging to me

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