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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rest — a break
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bass — low music
  5. season — in sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — child
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. current — happening now
  18. kid — to tease
  19. current — of water
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. bass — the fish
  22. season — of the year
  23. current — electric
  24. mouse — for a computer

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