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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. ball — a dance
  5. ground — a position
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. ground — the earth
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. ground — crushed
  15. chest — a box
  16. scale — size or range
  17. ball — a great time
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. scale — in music
  21. chest — of your body
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. scale — for weighing

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