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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. kid — to tease
  3. chest — a box
  4. game — a match
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. mug — a cup
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mug — a face
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. chest — of your body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. file — a line of people
  20. kid — child
  21. file — a tool
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. file — a document
  24. arm — a part of something

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