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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. content — happy
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. tube — the underground
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tube — a container
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. snap — to click
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. root — of a plant
  14. swing — music
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. swing — in golf
  18. root — the cause
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. root — of a word
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. content — the amount

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