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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. capital — money
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. tube — the underground
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. kid — to tease
  12. cue — a signal
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. tube — a container
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cue — for pool
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. kid — child
  23. capital — a city
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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