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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bat — the animal
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. bass — low music
  7. march — music
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. spell — a short time
  12. march — the month
  13. ground — crushed
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. chip — to eat
  18. ground — a position
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. march — the month
  21. deal — to handle
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chip — for betting

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