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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rash — hasty
  5. file — a tool
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. kick — in football
  8. net — for catching
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. net — in sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. hand — help
  14. club — for golf
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. rash — a series
  19. net — after costs
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. club — a group
  22. saw — the tool
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. club — for dancing

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