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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. capital — money
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. capital — a city
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. land — a country
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. land — ground
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. land — to come down
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. hide — to keep secret

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