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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. wound — an injury
  11. pitch — completely
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. foot — a measure
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. kid — to tease
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — a trail
  22. kid — child
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wake — before a funeral

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