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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. foot — a measure
  4. march — music
  5. stock — shares
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. ball — a great time
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. ball — a dance
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. march — the month
  16. stock — goods
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — a box
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. arm — part of the body

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