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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. mug — a cup
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. mug — a face
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. pitch — completely
  11. mug — to rob
  12. scale — in music
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bat — the animal
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. clip — for paper
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. scale — size or range
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. calf — of the leg

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