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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. drill — a practice
  3. drill — army training
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cue — a signal
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cue — for pool
  8. scale — in music
  9. cue — a hint
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. snap — to click
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. mate — a partner
  17. sharp — clever
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. mate — to breed
  20. drill — the tool
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. scale — size or range
  23. chest — a box
  24. arm — part of the body

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