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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. rock — music
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. chip — to eat
  8. march — music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. kid — to tease
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. spell — a short time
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. kid — child
  15. spell — letters
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chip — for betting
  18. band — a ring
  19. spell — magic
  20. march — the month
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. band — a music group
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. march — the month

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