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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. land — to come down
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. track — a path
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. land — ground
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bat — the animal
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — a committee
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bear — the animal
  17. land — a country
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. kid — child
  23. foot — a measure
  24. bat — for baseball

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