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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. net — in sport
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bass — the fish
  7. swing — to play on
  8. drill — army training
  9. scale — size or range
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. scale — in music
  12. net — after costs
  13. bat — the animal
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. bass — low music
  20. drill — a practice
  21. swing — music
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. net — for catching

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