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

Word bank: pop · fork · rest · arm · kid · band · sharp · present

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. band — a ring
  3. kid — child
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rest — what's left
  8. kid — to tease
  9. present — a gift
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. rest — a break
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. present — the time now
  18. pop — music
  19. sharp — clever
  20. present — there
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rest — what's left
  24. fork — in a road

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