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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. rash — a series
  6. wound — an injury
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bat — the animal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cue — a signal
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cue — a hint
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. swing — in golf
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rash — hasty
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. mouse — for a computer

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