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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. march — music
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kid — child
  7. rest — what's left
  8. band — a music group
  9. rest — what's left
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rest — a break
  15. rock — a stone
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — to tease
  18. net — for catching
  19. hand — help
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rock — music
  22. hand — in cards
  23. net — in sport
  24. band — a ring

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