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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. toast — bread
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. swing — to play on
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. kick — in football
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. mine — for digging
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. fork — in a road
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. hand — help
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. scale — in music

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