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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. race — humankind
  6. ground — crushed
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bat — the animal
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ground — a position
  13. hand — help
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. ground — the earth
  21. hand — in cards
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. arm — part of the body

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