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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. kick — in football
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. game — wild animals
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cap — a hat
  11. swing — to play on
  12. pitch — completely
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. prune — to trim
  15. swing — music
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cap — a lid
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. game — a match
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — an explosive

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