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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. row — a line
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. track — a path
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — for golf
  8. kid — to tease
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. track — to keep track
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chair — a leader
  14. hand — in cards
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pitch — completely
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. track — a song
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. kid — child
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. club — for dancing
  24. club — a group

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