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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. club — for dancing
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. swing — in golf
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cap — of ice
  7. swing — to play on
  8. land — a country
  9. club — for golf
  10. root — the cause
  11. swing — music
  12. land — to come down
  13. root — of a word
  14. cap — a hat
  15. kid — child
  16. club — a group
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cap — a lid

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