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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 120 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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. row — to paddle
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. branch — a division
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. squash — the sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spell — a short time
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. row — a line
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. spell — magic
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. spell — letters
  19. squash — to crush
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. straw — a straw man
  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