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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. spell — magic
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. kid — child
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. spell — letters
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. spell — a short time
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. patient — a sick person

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