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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · club · arm · bulb · coach · kid · wound · present

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. kid — child
  5. drill — army training
  6. bulb — for light
  7. club — for golf
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wound — an injury
  10. club — a group
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. present — a gift
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wound — an injury
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. present — the time now
  21. drill — a practice
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. club — for dancing
  24. present — there

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