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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: swing · cell · nail · sharp · kid · arm · pitcher · game

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cell — in biology
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. game — a match
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cell — a phone
  10. swing — to play on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. swing — music
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. game — wild animals
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. swing — in golf
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. sharp — exactly

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