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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — certain
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. prune — to trim
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. cap — of ice
  8. bound — obliged
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bound — tied together
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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