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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. game — a match
  3. present — a gift
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. kid — child
  7. bass — low music
  8. spell — magic
  9. bass — the fish
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. face — part of the head
  13. present — the time now
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. face — to point toward
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. fork — in a road
  18. present — there
  19. kid — to tease
  20. spell — a short time
  21. face — to confront
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spell — letters

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