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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. land — ground
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. season — in sport
  7. hand — help
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. swing — music
  10. land — a country
  11. hand — in cards
  12. swing — to play on
  13. can — to be able to
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. swing — in golf
  19. season — of the year
  20. land — to come down
  21. can — a tin
  22. can — a tin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. kid — child

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