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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: arm · scale · land · squash · rule · kick · pitch · swing

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. squash — to crush
  5. land — to come down
  6. scale — in music
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. scale — size or range
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. squash — the sport
  11. rule — a law
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. land — ground
  19. pitch — completely
  20. land — a country
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. rule — government
  24. kick — in football

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