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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. ground — a position
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. ground — the earth
  7. field — farmland
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ball — a great time
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. ground — crushed
  13. swing — music
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — for sport
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — a subject
  23. hand — help
  24. arm — part of the body

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