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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. pit — a hole
  8. scale — in music
  9. march — music
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. scale — size or range
  12. pit — in a race
  13. present — there
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rash — a series
  16. march — the month
  17. vault — a safe
  18. present — a gift
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. march — the month
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. sharp — clever
  23. arm — part of the body
  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