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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 124 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. march — the month
  5. rush — hurry
  6. march — the month
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. file — a line of people
  13. swing — in golf
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. file — a document
  19. march — music
  20. lean — to bend
  21. game — a match
  22. swing — music
  23. lean — thin
  24. file — a tool

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