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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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. last — to go on
  4. degree — from a university
  5. fall — to drop
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. court — of law
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. dip — to sink
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ground — a position
  14. fall — to drop
  15. court — of a king
  16. court — for sport
  17. fall — the season
  18. ground — the earth
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. last — finally
  21. degree — temperature
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. ground — crushed
  24. last — final

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