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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. drill — a practice
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. stock — goods
  5. fork — in a road
  6. kid — to tease
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kid — child
  9. club — for golf
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. club — for dancing
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. drill — the tool
  15. hand — in cards
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of law
  18. club — a group
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stock — shares
  21. hand — help
  22. drill — army training
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. court — of a king

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