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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pop — music
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spring — the season
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pop — soda
  8. wound — an injury
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. scale — in music
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — a series
  16. spring — of water
  17. pop — to visit
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. spring — a coil
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cell — in biology

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