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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. ball — a dance
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. drill — the tool
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ball — a great time
  15. fork — in a road
  16. drill — a practice
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. march — the month
  20. wound — an injury
  21. drill — army training
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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