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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mine — for digging
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. band — a ring
  15. ground — crushed
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ground — a position
  19. foot — a measure
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. kid — child
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. ground — the earth
  24. band — a music group

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