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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. present — there
  3. file — a line of people
  4. band — a ring
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. present — a gift
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. scale — in music
  13. band — a music group
  14. chair — a leader
  15. present — the time now
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. kid — child
  19. file — a document
  20. field — a subject
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. file — a tool

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