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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. kid — to tease
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — music
  9. hand — in cards
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. hand — help
  15. pit — in a race
  16. chest — a box
  17. drill — the tool
  18. kid — child
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. drill — army training
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chest — of your body
  24. pit — a hole

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