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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 · hand · kick · pitcher · ball · arm · dip · capital

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. swing — music
  5. ball — a great time
  6. hand — in cards
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. swing — to play on
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to sink
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kick — in football
  24. hand — help

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