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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mate — a partner
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. kid — child
  6. mate — to breed
  7. swing — in golf
  8. present — there
  9. mate — a friend
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. swing — to play on
  15. chest — a box
  16. present — a gift
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. swing — music
  20. chest — of your body
  21. kid — to tease
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. present — the time now

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