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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. press — to push
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. club — for golf
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. club — a group
  10. mine — for digging
  11. net — in sport
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. degree — from a university
  14. press — a publisher
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. net — after costs
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — temperature
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. net — for catching
  22. club — for dancing
  23. press — newspapers
  24. mine — belonging to me

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