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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. game — a match
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. row — a line
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. snap — to click
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kick — in football
  15. kid — child
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kid — to tease
  18. chair — a leader
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. row — to paddle

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