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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. scale — in music
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. club — for dancing
  11. hand — in cards
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hand — help
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bat — the animal
  19. scale — size or range
  20. capital — money
  21. capital — a city
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. leaves — lets stay

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