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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. face — part of the head
  3. rash — a series
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. kid — to tease
  7. present — a gift
  8. last — to go on
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. face — to confront
  11. game — a match
  12. stock — shares
  13. face — to point toward
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. present — there
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. game — wild animals
  19. last — finally
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stock — goods
  22. last — final
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. present — the time now

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