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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. tube — a container
  3. suit — in cards
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. tube — the underground
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. suit — to fit
  11. swing — to play on
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. suit — clothes
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. sharp — clever
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. band — a ring
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. band — a music group

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