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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. present — there
  3. present — a gift
  4. court — for sport
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. court — of a king
  8. bank — for money
  9. land — to come down
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. land — a country
  13. track — to keep track
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. bank — for money
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bank — of a river
  20. court — of law
  21. land — ground
  22. present — the time now
  23. track — a path
  24. track — a song

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