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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rock — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cell — in biology
  16. field — a subject
  17. rock — a stone
  18. deal — to handle
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cell — a phone
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the sport
  24. field — for sport

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