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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. saw — the tool
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. branch — a division
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. degree — an amount
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitch — completely
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. degree — temperature
  18. file — a document
  19. degree — from a university
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. season — to add flavour

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