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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 words: he'll be late again.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — an illness
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. club — for dancing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. club — a group
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. cold — not warm
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. scale — in music
  20. mark — a grade
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. mark — a trace
  24. club — for golf

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