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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pop — music
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. snap — to click
  6. chair — a leader
  7. pop — soda
  8. band — a ring
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. kid — to tease
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. foot — a measure
  16. band — a music group
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pop — to visit
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. chair — a professorship

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