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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. kid — child
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spell — magic
  5. rash — hasty
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. pop — to visit
  8. spell — a short time
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. pop — soda
  12. stock — shares
  13. press — a publisher
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. press — to push
  16. press — newspapers
  17. stock — goods
  18. pop — music
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rash — a series
  21. kid — to tease
  22. bat — the animal
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. spell — letters

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