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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. swing — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — of a king
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chest — a box
  7. mate — a partner
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. rest — a break
  11. mate — a friend
  12. kid — to tease
  13. court — of law
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — what's left
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. kid — child
  19. swing — to play on
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. court — for sport
  22. ground — crushed
  23. chest — of your body
  24. swing — in golf

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