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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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. drill — army training
  3. land — ground
  4. land — to come down
  5. cold — an illness
  6. net — in sport
  7. land — a country
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. drill — a practice
  10. net — after costs
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. rest — what's left
  13. board — to get on
  14. net — for catching
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. board — a committee
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — the Cold War

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