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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pit — in a race
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. fork — in a road
  10. swing — in golf
  11. sharp — clever
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. key — the most important part
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. saw — the tool
  18. key — in music
  19. pit — a hole
  20. cold — an illness
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. swing — music
  23. key — for a lock
  24. sharp — exactly

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