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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. rule — a law
  3. rock — music
  4. present — the time now
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rash — a series
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rule — government
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. field — for sport
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rock — a stone
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. present — a gift
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. present — there
  24. rock — to move gently

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