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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. roll — a cake
  3. kid — to tease
  4. roll — a list
  5. game — a match
  6. kid — child
  7. game — wild animals
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. bat — the animal
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. pitch — completely
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. toast — bread
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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