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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. bat — the animal
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. mark — a grade
  13. march — music
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. mark — a trace
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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