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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. capital — money
  3. bound — certain
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. rush — hurry
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — tied together
  9. current — of water
  10. bat — the animal
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — obliged
  17. current — happening now
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. capital — a city
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. current — electric
  24. arm — part of the body

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