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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. band — a ring
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. cell — in biology
  8. current — electric
  9. current — happening now
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cell — a phone
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. march — the month
  16. game — a match
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a music group
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. current — of water
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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