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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. object — an aim
  5. squash — to crush
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. swing — to play on
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wake — a trail
  16. object — a thing
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. object — to protest
  19. cold — an illness
  20. fork — in a road
  21. swing — music
  22. squash — the sport
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. arm — a part of something

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