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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — a subject
  7. hand — in cards
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. field — farmland
  11. race — a contest
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. hand — help
  14. field — for sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. race — the arms race
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. race — humankind
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

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