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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 120 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 currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. kid — to tease
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fall — to drop
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — child
  11. hand — help
  12. fall — the season
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. board — to get on
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bass — the fish
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. bass — low music
  23. snap — to click
  24. board — a flat piece

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