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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cue — for pool
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cue — a hint
  10. mug — a cup
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. kid — child
  13. field — for sport
  14. scale — in music
  15. field — farmland
  16. bat — the animal
  17. field — a subject
  18. mug — to rob
  19. cue — a signal
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. mug — a face
  24. scale — size or range

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