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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. game — wild animals
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. scale — in music
  5. stock — goods
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. wound — an injury
  9. scale — size or range
  10. game — a match
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fine — high quality
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. prune — to trim
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. stock — shares
  21. fine — all right
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. arm — part of the body

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