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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: last · arm · bat · fork · sharp · chest · pop · fine

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. pop — music
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — in a road
  7. last — finally
  8. fine — high quality
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fine — all right
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. sharp — clever
  17. last — final
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pop — to visit
  21. chest — of your body
  22. last — to go on
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bat — the animal

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