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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. net — for catching
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stock — shares
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stock — goods
  11. march — music
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. swing — music
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. march — the month
  17. swing — to play on
  18. swing — in golf
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pitch — completely
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cell — a phone

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