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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. spell — a short time
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. kid — child
  5. swing — music
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. swing — to play on
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. spell — magic
  14. present — a gift
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. present — there
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spell — letters
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. swing — in golf
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wake — a trail
  24. present — the time now

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