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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. spell — a short time
  7. ball — a dance
  8. row — a line
  9. rash — hasty
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. spell — magic
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ball — a great time
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. spell — letters
  19. lean — thin
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. lean — to bend
  22. row — to paddle
  23. squash — the sport
  24. rash — a series

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