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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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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: hand · arm · squash · ball · dip · cell · pitch · shower

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. squash — to crush
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cell — a phone
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. pitch — completely
  13. dip — to sink
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. hand — in cards
  20. shower — rain
  21. hand — help
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. ball — a great time
  24. shower — to wash

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