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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: track · chest · perch · arm · kid · bulb · sharp · deal

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. kid — child
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. chest — a box
  5. sharp — clever
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. perch — the fish
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. kid — to tease
  12. deal — to handle
  13. track — to keep track
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bulb — for light
  16. track — a path
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. bulb — for light
  23. track — a song
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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