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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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. capital — money
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. rest — what's left
  8. court — of law
  9. capital — a city
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bore — to drill
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. court — of a king
  16. bore — to tire
  17. mug — a cup
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mug — a face
  20. clip — to cut
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. mug — to rob
  23. rest — a break
  24. clip — a video

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