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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bass — the fish
  5. kick — in football
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. degree — from a university
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bass — low music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. degree — temperature
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — music
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chair — a leader
  24. snap — to click

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