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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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. band — a ring
  7. hand — help
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. spell — a short time
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spell — letters
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hand — in cards
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. spell — magic
  24. bat — in an idiom

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