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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fork — in a road
  18. game — a match

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