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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. court — for sport
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. scale — in music
  6. court — of a king
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. capital — money
  12. bat — the animal
  13. capital — a city
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. court — of law
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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