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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. march — the month
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. march — music
  8. chair — a leader
  9. wound — an injury
  10. march — the month
  11. drill — a practice
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a match
  17. drill — the tool
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. drill — army training
  24. chair — a professorship

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