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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. file — a tool
  6. present — the time now
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pop — music
  9. file — a document
  10. march — the month
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — soda
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a line of people
  20. march — music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. present — a gift
  23. pop — to visit
  24. arm — a part of something

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