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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: bat · present · wind · kick · ground · rest · club · arm

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — there
  11. rest — a break
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — in football
  15. club — a group
  16. present — the time now
  17. rest — what's left
  18. club — for golf
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ground — a position
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. club — for dancing
  24. arm — a part of something

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