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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. scale — in music
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. chest — a box
  15. shower — rain
  16. rash — hasty
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. scale — size or range
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rash — a series
  21. ball — a great time
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. shower — to wash
  24. ball — a dance

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