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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — a leader
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. race — a contest
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. kick — in football
  9. cap — a hat
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. cap — of ice
  12. hand — help
  13. rock — a stone
  14. shower — rain
  15. shower — to wash
  16. hand — in cards
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. rock — music
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. race — humankind
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. race — the arms race
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cap — a lid

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