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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. tube — a container
  4. mug — to rob
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. swing — in golf
  9. craft — a skill
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. swing — to play on
  12. club — a group
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mug — a cup
  18. tube — the underground
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. swing — music
  21. club — for dancing
  22. club — for golf
  23. craft — boats
  24. arm — part of the body

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