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

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. pound — a weight
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. key — for a lock
  6. spell — a short time
  7. drill — army training
  8. drill — a practice
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. key — the most important part
  11. spell — magic
  12. game — a match
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. fork — in a road
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. spell — letters
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. game — wild animals
  21. drill — the tool
  22. branch — a division
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. key — in music

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