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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. pop — music
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. fork — in a road
  7. capital — money
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. pop — to visit
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. key — for a lock
  13. key — the most important part
  14. field — farmland
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. field — for sport
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. pop — soda
  20. capital — a city
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. key — in music
  24. field — a subject

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