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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. band — a ring
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. staff — employees
  10. perch — the fish
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wind — moving air
  13. craft — a skill
  14. march — music
  15. degree — an amount
  16. band — a music group
  17. degree — from a university
  18. craft — boats
  19. march — the month
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — a stick
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a rubber band

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