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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. squash — the sport
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. squash — to crush
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. band — a ring
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. file — a line of people
  13. ball — a great time
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. file — a document
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wound — an injury
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. band — a music group
  23. file — a tool
  24. wound — an injury

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