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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. hand — help
  3. can — a tin
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. swing — music
  8. foot — a measure
  9. shower — rain
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. can — a tin
  13. stock — goods
  14. field — a subject
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. swing — to play on
  20. can — to be able to
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stock — shares
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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