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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. David sat on 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. arm — part of the body
  3. shower — to wash
  4. scale — size or range
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kid — to tease
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. squash — the sport
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. swing — music
  17. scale — in music
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. lie — to recline
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. swing — to play on

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