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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. mark — a trace
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. last — final
  15. last — finally
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. hand — in cards
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — clever
  22. pitch — completely
  23. mark — a grade
  24. fan — to cool the air

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