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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. swing — to play on
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. spring — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. staff — a stick
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. staff — employees
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fall — to drop
  18. staff — employees
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. fall — the season
  21. swing — music
  22. fork — in a road
  23. swing — in golf
  24. fork — to eat with

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