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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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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. fork — in a road
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. cold — not warm
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. scale — size or range
  14. branch — a division
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. scale — in music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. branch — of a tree

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