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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. scale — size or range
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pop — music
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pitch — completely
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. file — a document
  13. scale — in music
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pop — soda
  17. rash — a series
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rash — hasty
  24. nail — on a finger

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