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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. ground — a position
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. cue — for pool
  6. spell — letters
  7. pit — in a race
  8. saw — the tool
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ground — crushed
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — a tool
  15. hand — help
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pit — a hole
  18. spell — magic
  19. cue — a signal
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. ground — the earth
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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