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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. club — a group
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. march — music
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. club — for golf
  10. field — farmland
  11. pound — a weight
  12. club — for dancing
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. march — the month
  15. field — a subject
  16. march — the month
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stem — to come from
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — for sport
  24. jam — in traffic

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